# Summary of IRC Conversation on August 29, 2016

* kanzure proposed focusing on "flat machines" that can be constructed using photolithography and other low-touch techniques to avoid robotic assembly problems, noting that restricting degrees of freedom for motion is advantageous.

* maaku suggested that Conway's Game of Life cellular automata architecture could be useful for designing flat self-replicating machines, as Conway originally invented it for the purpose of designing self-replicators.

* kanzure shared research on extremophiles in space, noting that C. elegans survived the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia during reentry, and discussed using silica aerogels to capture orbiting microparticles.

* kanzure theorized that microbes could survive in interstellar water droplets due to surface tension, suggesting that "nutrient dust" could be flown into microbial fogs in vacuum to enable biomass growth and manufacturing capabilities.

* ybit shared magnet links for two BBC documentaries ("Chemistry: A Volatile History" and "The Cell") that were difficult to find through legitimate channels.

* kanzure shared a resource for extracting citations from PDF files (github.com/academia-edu/biblicit) and a collection of astrobiology papers (diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/space/astrobiology/).

* A paper titled "Synthetic Biology for Space Exploration: Promises and Societal Implications" was shared, discussing applications of synthetic biology for space exploration.