# Summary of IRC Conversation on November 20, 2015

* Discussion about genetic engineering approaches, with kanzure noting that protein design is currently difficult and explaining how mutagenesis techniques can be used for "arbitrary traversal of genetic landscape for various phenotype outcomes."

* Detailed conversation about gene drives, with kanzure sharing information from Harvard's Wyss Institute about how gene drives can spread genetic modifications through populations, noting it would take about 16 generations for a gene drive to reach 99% of a population under optimal conditions.

* Debate about mutation strategies for cryonics experiments, with docl arguing that mutations are mostly harmful and larger populations would be better for selection, while kanzure emphasized that researchers themselves are the selection pressure in such experiments.

* Shared article about pigeons being taught to diagnose breast cancer on X-rays, demonstrating novel applications of animal cognition for medical purposes.

* Discussion of parasites that affect muscle performance, including reference to Kudoa inornata, a myxozoan parasite that enhances swimming performance in spotted seatrout fish.

* Kanzure shared an article about science startups from Y Combinator discussing the challenges of technical risk versus market risk, noting that founders from academia often give up too quickly on fundraising.

* References to open-source CAD software development, with links to projects like opendesignengine.net and cadquery on GitHub, highlighting the need for professional-level open-source CAD tools.