This is really fascinating. My wife works doing "biotech" research in the university (she's looking for something new, though, if anyone's got any leads), and I would really not have thought this sort of thing possible, given all the requirements for fancy, expensive equipment. Also, as much as we shouldn't give in to paranoia, there are some safety risks involved that are much more significant than 'bad posture' that might afflict a programmer sitting in a chair too much.

More than anything, I'm constantly amazed at just how low capital requirements are in the programming field. You can do innovative stuff with just an ordinary computer. How cool is that?