# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion

• The channel discussed the "SPACE Act of 2015" (Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act), which was being considered by Congress, showing interest in commercial space development policy.

• A participant shared details about their academic thesis on DIYbio, examining how amateur biologists create "parasitic" laboratories that both connect to and critique institutional science while developing alternative methods of biological knowledge production.

• Members shared information about a National Academies live streaming event on gene editing, including links to the stream and agenda, demonstrating the community's engagement with cutting-edge biotechnology developments.

• Bitcoin developer gmaxwell offered insights on monopoly formation, suggesting that small monopoly pressures exist in many markets but complete monopolies may not form if market conditions change faster than monopolization can occur.

• The group discussed space elevator technology with reference to an AMA with scientists working on the concept, noting the coincidental simultaneous publication of novels about space elevators by Arthur C. Clarke and Charles Sheffield.

• Participants lamented the need for more high-quality hard science fiction, while highlighting authors still producing good work including Greg Egan, Stephen Baxter, Kim Stanley Robinson, Peter Watts, and Daniel Suarez.

• A discussion about academic secrecy revealed concerns that some researchers are "pathologically worried" about others stealing or poaching their research results, indicating tensions in open science.