# Key Points from IRC Log

• A paper titled "Software engineering at Google" was shared (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1702.01715.pdf), prompting discussion about whether Google's "20% time" policy still exists, with confirmation that it is "long gone."

• Aviv Bergman's views on aging were discussed, noting his disagreement with Aubrey de Grey's SENS approach - Bergman believes aging is hard-wired in genetic code rather than addressable through "garbage cleanup," citing queen bees vs. worker bees (same DNA but vastly different lifespans) as evidence.

• A suggestion was made for developing "blood replacements specific to brain function or modes," indicating interest in targeted neurological enhancement technologies.

• Research on sleep and synaptic function was shared, specifically "Homer1a drives homeostatic scaling-down of excitatory synapses during sleep," explaining how synapses undergo changes during sleep-wake cycles.

• Open-source hardware for electrophysiology was mentioned (http://www.open-ephys.org/), along with information about the 34th Microelectrode Techniques for Cell Physiology Workshop.

• A paper on climate engineering was shared discussing the concept of spraying diamond dust in the sky to cool the planet (http://www.nature.com/news/climate-scientists-ponder-spraying-diamond-dust-in-the-sky-to-cool-planet-1.18634).