Slashdot Mirror


Brain of Patient H.M. Being Sliced, Streamed Live

buswolley writes "The slicing of the brain of the famous amnesic patient H.M. into giant histological sections is now in full swing, and is being streamed live. The brain specimen is frozen and sectioned whole during one continuous session that is expected to last approximately 30 hours."

199 comments

  1. And the server crashed under the load! by richardkelleher · · Score: 0

    Just tried to connect and get a timeout error

    1. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by CannonballHead · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      get a timeout error

      Maybe you already used all three of yours?

    2. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by richardkelleher · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, I'm not getting the reference. Right over my head. Completely clueless! Some context to the comment maybe? Three what?

    3. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by joocemann · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It is working for me. This is pretty awesome looking

    4. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      Primarily an NFL reference I guess. 3 timeouts per half (per team), IIRC. :)

    5. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sorry, I'm not getting the reference. Right over my head. Completely clueless! Some context to the comment maybe? Three what?

      I think it's an american football reference?

    6. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by bickerdyke · · Score: 1

      oh. *that* kind of football

      --
      bickerdyke
    7. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea you know, the brainless one that is actually fun to play?

    8. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by richardkelleher · · Score: 1

      You would think that, having been born in this country and living here for 53 years I would get a football reference, but noooooo. Baseball maybe, but I've never paid much attention to football. Go figure. :)

    9. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by daeley · · Score: 1

      Yea you know, the brainless one that is actually fun to play?

      Rugby? ;)

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    10. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by socceroos · · Score: 1

      Rugby Union to be specific. ;)

    11. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Cryacin · · Score: 1

      What was that link again?

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    12. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 1

      Aussie Rules.

      --
      Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
    13. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      H.M.?! Her Majesty?!

      Well, I knew she was a bit stiff, but frozen brain?

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    14. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Evil+Shabazz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that 5-10s of action for every 45s off the game clock sure is riveting.

      --
      Down with the career politician! SUPPORT TERM LIMITS
    15. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK!

      In a real mans sport, no body armour is allowed!

      In American football there are more breaks than there is play. A load of fetid dingos kidneys gridiron!

    16. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tastes pretty good too.

      I'm on the slicing team. We had some extra so we put some on Jewish rye with some sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and swiss cheese.

      It was awwww-riight.

    17. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

      Slashdot- fucking up wet dreams since 1997!

    18. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by rockout · · Score: 1

      It's better than the 5-10s of action for 90 minutes of the closest thing to inaction.
      And that's if you're lucky enough to not be watching a 0-0 game.

      --
      I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
    19. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by Evil+Shabazz · · Score: 1

      I guess if the criteria for action are so pedestrian that only a scoring event registers, you're right. After NASCAR, the NFL is second highest major sport in the US in catering the the least common denominator in intelligence. Cheers.

      --
      Down with the career politician! SUPPORT TERM LIMITS
    20. Re:And the server crashed under the load! by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      Football? What’s football?

      Perhaps you could make a car analogy.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  2. Streaming? Not any more by cdrudge · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, it was prior to being posted on /.

  3. This is ... by Conchobair · · Score: 5, Funny

    Zombie Pr0n.

    1. Re:This is ... by buswolley · · Score: 1

      Each slice is fixed in gelatin. Remarkably, it doesnt get damaged as the slice gets crumpled up.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    2. Re:This is ... by buswolley · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Deli Sliced brain though.. yeah definitely for Zombies.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    3. Re:This is ... by dwywit · · Score: 2, Funny

      Carpaccio for Zombies?

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    4. Re:This is ... by niktemadur · · Score: 2, Funny

      Deli Sliced brain

      Headcheese, very European.
      Or you could do some authentic Mexican food, dice up the brain and toss the chunks into a vat of simmering bone marrow soup, in which case the brains are called sesos.
      No joke, I've had this with a dash of lemon and besides being super tasty, it's an incredible hangover recipe, although the amounts of cholesterol involved are ridiculously high.

      Speaking of hardcore food from the central Mexico region, the only thing I can think of that I haven't dared try yet are escamoles, a buttery, cheese-like spread made of (wait for it...) ant eggs.
      This thing won a culinary competition in Spain a couple of years ago, the judges finding out what they ate and praised only after they handed out the prize. Some of the judges then probably scrambled towards the toilets, head first.
      Seriously though, they don't use just any ants, but those that set up their colonies in fields of maguey plants, where mezcal and tequila come from. Call it Mexico's idea of "kosher", I dunno.

      --
      Lil' Thindime, lilting a lacrimose lament, krashes the kwaint konfines of Kokonino Kounty
    5. Re:This is ... by bronney · · Score: 1

      Hey bro, Hong Kong welcomes you. We eat chicken testes here.

    6. Re:This is ... by kklein · · Score: 1

      I'd eat ant eggs any day of the week. Brains? No thanks. I don't need my brain going all spongy on me.

    7. Re:This is ... by tsa · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think you mean cock testes.

      --

      -- Cheers!

  4. So... by chill · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm guessing H.M. is dead, right? Wasn't this a scene out of Hannibal Lecter? Excuse me while I dig up a good chianti and some fava beans.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    1. Re:So... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      He's dead now, for sure.

    2. Re:So... by rattaroaz · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not necessarily. He just doesn't have a brain. He could still be a lawyer.

    3. Re:So... by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not necessarily. He just doesn't have a brain. He could still be a lawyer.

      Or a Slashdot moderator.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    4. Re:So... by OakDragon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Not necessarily. He just doesn't have a brain. He could still be a lawyer.

      Or a Slashdot moderator.

      -1 Flamebait

    5. Re:So... by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > -1 Flamebait

      No. +5 Troll

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    6. Re:So... by FooAtWFU · · Score: 1, Funny
      I'm sorry! The new moderation UI tricked me! I posted to undo it!!

      Why couldn't they leave the 'Moderate' button to rest in peace?!?!?!

      --
      The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
    7. Re:So... by StikyPad · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Brain of Patient H.M. Being Sliced, Steamed Alive

    8. Re:So... by szilagyi · · Score: 1

      The chianti and favas go with the liver. Don't be uncivilized.

    9. Re:So... by Lord+Maud'Dib · · Score: 1

      So by that definition a lawyer is someone with two internal organs missing - a heart and a brain.

    10. Re:So... by celery+stalk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not necessarily. He just doesn't have a brain. He could still be a lawyer.

      Or a Slashdot editor.

      Fixed that for ya.

      --
      aaaand...whee!
    11. Re:So... by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      I was actually guessing they'd replaced his brain with an electronic one, that was capable of basic bodily functions, saying "What", and "Where's the tea?"

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    12. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or IBM upper management

    13. Re:So... by Spazztastic · · Score: 1

      So by that definition a lawyer is someone with two internal organs missing - a heart and a brain.

      Hey, they could play a double role in The Wizard of Oz! Tin Man and Scarecrow!

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    14. Re:So... by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      Oddly enough, I actually did misread “live” to mean that the patient H.M. was alive.

      ...wut.

      Then I clicked through to the article and my interpretation shifted to the correct meaning of the headline – without me even realising it, until I read your comment.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  5. Not H. M. by SlowMovingTarget · · Score: 4, Funny

    Some gal named Abby Normal...

    1. Re:Not H. M. by Eggplant62 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And to think, I'm sitting here watching Young Frankenstein on AMC. Good show.

    2. Re:Not H. M. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative


      Dear Anonymous Coward,

      For the record, we don't like being told what to do.

      Thank you,
      The Moderators.

    3. Re:Not H. M. by martas · · Score: 1

      god dammit, this is not off topic, this is exactly what GP is referencing!

    4. Re:Not H. M. by s1lverl0rd · · Score: 1

      Sciuto.

    5. Re:Not H. M. by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      Quit talking to yourself, Anonymous Coward.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  6. HM by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those of you unaware, HM had essentially complete loss of long term memory, but a normal short term/working memory and, curiously the ability to commit long term learning to his motor memory. So, he could learn new motor skills (an example would be juggling, but I do not know if HM learned that particular task), but not high-level memories.

    If you're interested in more, then try reading the excellent book: "The man who mistook his wife for his hat".

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
    1. Re:HM by MWoody · · Score: 1

      Man, that would an awesome movie: they train him to be an assassin. He knows nothing except what's in the folder he's given and, of course, how to KICK ASS. And, uh, do Parkour, since all action heroes can do that now.

    2. Re:HM by johncadengo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yeah. That was exactly what I was wondering when I read this. A nice link to wikipedia would've been nice.

      P.S. UC San Diego. Go Tritons!

      --
      My page.
    3. Re:HM by Jahava · · Score: 4, Informative

      We can call it 1 / Memento.

    4. Re:HM by joocemann · · Score: 1

      bastad! you beat me to it!

    5. Re:HM by Kenoli · · Score: 1

      I knew that.

    6. Re:HM by BradleyUffner · · Score: 1

      Memento was the opposite problem, wasnt it? Long term memory intact, no short term memory.

    7. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      UCSD!!

    8. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man, that would an awesome movie: they train him to be an assassin. He knows nothing except what's in the folder he's given and, of course, how to KICK ASS. And, uh, do Parkour, since all action heroes can do that now.

      Also sounds just like the comic book character Deadpool

      Doesn't really remember his past; Brain is constantly in flux. Forgets missions that he did a month ago. He definitely knows how to kick some proper ass. And say chimichangas. Chimichangas. Chimichangas. That's such a great word. Chimichangas.

    9. Re:HM by pjt33 · · Score: 1

      The Bourne Identity?

    10. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I am a neuroscientist, seriously don't read that book, its filled with of exaggeration and confabulation. Oliver Sacks writes well enough to entertain the un-informed but his work is more fiction than not.

      There are so many better books out there for the layperson.

      I recommend this book http://tinyurl.com/yjfo44p

    11. Re:HM by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      Båstad is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 4,793 inhabitants in 2005. [It] is located in a sheltered bay with the Hallandian ridge stretching behind it. The town borders the shore, whereafter the terrain raises until the dense vegetation of the ridge takes over.

      I don't see what bringing a Swedish town into the discussion adds... ;)

    12. Re:HM by chfriley · · Score: 1

      UCSD, APM, Scripps, Black's Beach etc. :-)

    13. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A nice link to wikipedia would've been nice.

      You mean like the first link in the summary?

    14. Re:HM by gnapster · · Score: 1

      You lucky dog! (5, Informative) for linking to the same wiki page as the summary! Your methods intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

    15. Re:HM by joocemann · · Score: 1

      It has everything to do with it. The swedes were the first to dissect brains, and are also the first in the store on black friday. Needless to say, they are close to this issue.

      Bastads!

    16. Re:HM by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      I recommend not using tinyurl for links on slashdot.
      No one wants to be tricked into viewing goatse.

    17. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      memento is the opposite, H.M. was an Amnesiac

    18. Re:HM by johncadengo · · Score: 1

      Ah, you sly detective. At the time of my post there was no link. They only changed it after I mentioned it. Yay!

      --
      My page.
    19. Re:HM by Man+Eating+Duck · · Score: 1

      I recommend not using tinyurl for links on slashdot.
      No one wants to be tricked into viewing goatse.

      Tinyurl has its uses, for instance on Slashdot where your complex/malformed url can be expected to be mangled by a filter.

      If you're not yet immune to goatse you can visit this page (I see the irony, it's actually a php page at tinyurl.com itself, copy & paste http://tinyurl.com/preview.php if you prefer) and enable a handy url-preview. I presume that they use a cookie, so keep your tinfoil hat on.

      --
      Are you a grammar Nazi? I'm trying to improve my English; please correct my errors! :)
    20. Re:HM by smitty777 · · Score: 1

      It was also interesting to cognitive scientists that he could acquire spatial memories as well. For example, he had obtained spatial knowledge about the new house he had moved to after the operation, and good memory of the spatial layout of the house. This brought us a long way in our understanding of the mechanisms behind the different types of memory, since we had pretty precise knowledge of what was removed.

      --
      "Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish"
      Albert Einstein
    21. Re:HM by Digital+Pizza · · Score: 3, Informative
      --
      We apologize for the inconvenience.
    22. Re:HM by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 1

      Wasn't it the Vikings who first attempted brain dissection? I believe it was Doctor Thor "Berserker Dougie" Houser who pioneered this in a remote fishing village. With sad results, as the patient was not only still alive but clinging to his leg. Never tell a Viking doctor you lied about having health insurance coverage, and do not have money hidden in your hut.

    23. Re:HM by gnapster · · Score: 1

      Ah, that makes good sense. Sorry to have sent your moderation in decline. ;c)

    24. Re:HM by buswolley · · Score: 1

      To be fair, that link wasn't present when he made that comment. They changed the summary.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    25. Re:HM by pieisgood · · Score: 1

      The only good thing about this school is our school hand signal.... the shocker. Also, there's a wiki link in the summary... so I guess I should be ashamed of my fellow student. AT LEAST RTFS!

      --
      Eat sleep die
    26. Re:HM by MechaStreisand · · Score: 1

      Hence the 1 / Memento.

      --
      Disclaimer: IANAL. This post is, however, legal advice, and creates an attorney-client relationship.
    27. Re:HM by masmullin · · Score: 2, Funny

      I forget.

    28. Re:HM by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      It's cool, it's cool...just play it in reverse.

    29. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AP&M, back before the CS building existed. Oh living on the lab floor, writing compilers. Pure magic!

    30. Re:HM by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      alternatively, take any tinyurl link and prefix the subdomain "preview"

      IE, like this.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    31. Re:HM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or the Bourne whatever...

    32. Re:HM by thepotoo · · Score: 1

      No, actually both were the same: H.M. had anterograde amnesia (everything after his surgery he can't recall). The doctor that worked with him had to introduce herself every time she walked into the room with him, just like the guy from Memento.

      --
      Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
    33. Re:HM by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      Ick, with 3.ly you just append a hyphen (-) and with bit.ly I think it’s a plus (+). With tinyurl you have to actually seek to between the / and the t, and type “preview.”?

      Gah.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    34. Re:HM by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Where prepending "preview" is pretty damn... oh I can't remember the word. It makes sense.

      Nobody forces you to use http:/// either. When was the last time you use a user-oriented piece of software and HAD to type that in?

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    35. Re:HM by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      The whole point is brevity, though.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  7. Mirror by NiteMair · · Score: 4, Informative
    1. Re:Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mirror points to original site for content...damn.

    2. Re:Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it does have the live feed there - it's just nothing is currently happening (currently a paper taped over the machine).

    3. Re:Mirror by Luminary+Crush · · Score: 1

      And thus dies the mirror site after a brave fight against the hoards of Slashdotters with a sense of morbid curiousity.

    4. Re:Mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      still working here

  8. Re:Streaming? Not any more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It has loaded and all 3 cameras are streaming for me.

    I am not sure what I am looking at really, but it is playing.. for now.

  9. Great! by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 1

    It's 6PM here and my suppertime. I think I'll pass.

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
  10. department of redunancy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I'm not seeing the redundancy anywhere?

  11. Pity it's a week late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is like a foodtv thanksgiving marathon for zombies!

  12. they should record a video by FudRucker · · Score: 1

    and a progressive walkthrough the layers like an MRI, upload it to youtube or something

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
    1. Re:they should record a video by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you want a movie of successive MRI layers, you can check out this animated GIF of an MRI scan of my own head (sagittal plane).

    2. Re:they should record a video by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Correct, watching the slicing is not really the point of this. What they do is make a bunch of very thin slices, scan them, then make a 3d computer image which can be viewed in cross section from any angle, or you can use algorithms to isolate given structures in the brain, estimate their volume, etc etc.

    3. Re:they should record a video by MsGeek · · Score: 1

      That. Is. Cool. Thanks for sharing!

      --
      Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
    4. Re:they should record a video by johncadengo · · Score: 1

      Interestingly enough, I'm taking a class on that.

      --
      My page.
    5. Re:they should record a video by be951 · · Score: 1

      This one is even better.

  13. Braaiinnssss...... by rts008 · · Score: 1

    Zombie Food TV at it's finest!

    --
    Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  14. Henry Gustav Molaison by phizi0n · · Score: 3, Informative
    1. Re:Henry Gustav Molaison by cshay · · Score: 1

      It's been on Wikipedia for one year (since one day after he died). Prior to that only VIPs knew it.

  15. Limited bandwidth and limited prospective audiance by pecosdave · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    at least legitimate prospective audience, and it's going to last for 30 hours.

    Then, some ass-hat goes and post it on fucking SLASHDOT!

    --
    The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
  16. brain structures by thelonious · · Score: 0

    Given how much research has been done showing the remarkable way brain damaged patients have had their brains automatically "rewire" themselves around injured components, just how much is expected to be learned from structure?

    1. Re:brain structures by simcop2387 · · Score: 2, Informative

      about the normal brain structures? maybe none, BUT they might learn how his brain rewired itself, and get an idea of what areas of the brain weren't connected anymore to get a better idea of why he had no long term memory (and provide information about how the brain actually does that!), it at the very least might shed light on how the brain forms those connections

  17. sectioned while alive? by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    Wow I misread the headline and thought it said the brain is being sectioned alive.
    Now THAT would be worth streaming.

    1. Re:sectioned while alive? by HawkinsD · · Score: 4, Funny

      I thought the same thing. Nowhere in the summary does it say that the patient is deceased.

      May I suggest a clarification?

      The slicing the brain of the famous amnesic patient H.M. WHO IS FRICKIN' DEAD into giant histological sections...

      --
      Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by mere idiocy.
    2. Re:sectioned while alive? by skine · · Score: 1

      They do call his brain a specimen, and state that it's frozen.

      However I think the part where it says they're SLICING UP THE FRICKIN' GUY'S BRAIN might give it away.

    3. Re:sectioned while alive? by KingAlanI · · Score: 1

      This just in: Psychological case study Henry Gustav Molaison is still dead.

      --
      I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
    4. Re:sectioned while alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > May I suggest a clarification?
      > The slicing the brain of the famous amnesic patient H.M. WHO IS FRICKIN' DEAD into giant histological sections...

      If you honestly needed that clarification, may I suggest volunteering your brain for medical science? They could get to work on it next...

    5. Re:sectioned while alive? by db10 · · Score: 1

      Please keep us updated.

  18. Exactly how long? by Alcohol+Fueled · · Score: 1

    Summary: "... is expected to last approximately 30 hours."
    Then from the page: "We are going to cut through the entire brain over the next 50 hours."

    Glad we've got our time frames together.

    --
    Ah am not a crook! (\(-__-)/)
    1. Re:Exactly how long? by camperdave · · Score: 4, Funny

      The difference is the commercials.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    2. Re:Exactly how long? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So 50 hours means:

      -20 hours of commercials,
      -12 hours of reminding the audience of the slices taken before the commercial break,
      -10 hours of discussion on the slicing of brains,
      -6 hours of actual brain slicing,
      -2 hours of making sure that everything is destroyed beyond recognition.

      Wait. Sorry, that's the formulaic breakdown of a two-day Mythbusters marathon.

  19. They could have done it while he was alive ... by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's not like he would have remembered anything ...

    1. Re:They could have done it while he was alive ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ironically, his memory problems were the result of the cutting up his brain in the first place (attempting to control his epilepsy).

  20. Is that headline correct? by unitron · · Score: 1

    So is this guy's name H.M. Brain?

    --

    I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

    1. Re:Is that headline correct? by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      No. Its Abe Normal.

    2. Re:Is that headline correct? by unitron · · Score: 1

      Instead of actually sending me a new keyboard, just transfer the money into my account and I'll pick one up locally.

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

  21. Re:Streaming? Not any more by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

    I'm sure buswolley is avidly against human dissection and posted this story just to crash the video server. It all makes sense, its the perfect plan! The only piece missing from this puzzle is proof!

  22. Organ donation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So I can't help but wonder how they got HM to consent to organ donation ? Did they ask him everyday until his death ? Or perhaps he got "organ donor" tattooed on his body ?

    1. Re:Organ donation by buswolley · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah good question. I suspect that they might have tricked him by a process of implicit motor learning.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    2. Re:Organ donation by Tynin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I cannot find the article that goes over it, but I recall reading about him some time ago. During the interview he was quite aware of his condition, after all he remembers everything that happened prior to his surgery to help control his seizures. He basically said that he wanted to help the doctors better understand his condition in any way that could be beneficial because that information could help other people. Wish I could find the article, as I do believe he had enough understanding and did give permission.

    3. Re:Organ donation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So I can't help but wonder how they got HM to consent to organ donation ? Did they ask him everyday until his death ? Or perhaps he got "organ donor" tattooed on his body ?

      Apparently he was in two minds about it for a while. Then 3, then 4, then 5, ...

    4. Re:Organ donation by noidentity · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I bet the MAFIAA would have hated this guy. Every day he could listen to the same song or watch the same movie, never paying them more then the one-time cost to purchase it. Imagine the laws they would have crafted to deal with people like him who rob them of all that profit!

    5. Re:Organ donation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No need for new laws- they'd just claim that since he was constantly a new viewer that watching a movie daily cumulatively constitutes one giant public performance.

      If he watches the same film every night for a year, that's equivalent to a screening for 365 audience members.

  23. Re:Streaming? Not any more by buswolley · · Score: 1

    Well, I was hoping it was going to make up for that last neuroanatomy exam.

    --

    A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

  24. Re:Streaming? Not any more by syousef · · Score: 1

    Well, it was prior to being posted on /.

    Now it's just steaming...soon to be on fire!

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  25. Wasn't this a movie? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wasn't there a movie about this guy that starred Adam Sandler? 50 First Dates. Or something like that.

    1. Re:Wasn't this a movie? by ArcherB · · Score: 1

      Wasn't there a movie about this guy that starred Adam Sandler? 50 First Dates. Or something like that.

      From TFA:

      After the surgery—which was successful in its primary goal of controlling his epilepsy—he suffered from severe anterograde amnesia: although his working memory and procedural memory were intact, he could not commit new events to long-term memory. According to some scientists (e.g., Schmolck, Kensinger, Corkin, & Squire, 2002), HM was impaired in his ability to form new semantic knowledge but researchers argue over the extent of this impairment. He also suffered moderate retrograde amnesia, and could not remember most events in the 3–4 -day period before surgery, and some events up to 11 years before, meaning that his amnesia was temporally graded. However, his ability to form long-term procedural memories was still intact; thus he could, as an example, learn new motor skills, despite not being able to remember learning them.

      So, yeah, kinda. It's not like the guy would remember everything until he went to bed. The article was not specific about how long memories would stay in short term memory. I guess that as long as you reminded him of something all day, he might remember it... or at least until you forgot to remind him.

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
  26. LoL by wookychewbacca · · Score: 0

    LoL - Sounds kinda like when ferocious animals attack! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKEHi2nwWw8

  27. This reminds me of something I've seen before ... by timothy · · Score: 1

    Shave ice!

    Also, a server connected to the internet ala recent bad THE INTERNET horror movies, where every hit makes the hammer (shown on web cam) whack on the chassis of the server, or (distressingly!) shave off part of its brain.

    timothy

    --
    jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
  28. Necessary? by seven+of+five · · Score: 2, Insightful

    With MRI, CAT scans, etc, is this ghoulish exercise really necessary anymore?

    1. Re:Necessary? by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      Not ghoulish: merely clinical. And yes, it is necessary. No non-invasive technology can resolve the neurons.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    2. Re:Necessary? by syousef · · Score: 1

      With MRI, CAT scans, etc, is this ghoulish exercise really necessary anymore?

      Medical imaging is fantastic technology but it does not replace what you can see when you actually cut something up and take away layers of other material between you and the object being observed

      We still have to do painful biopses on live patients too, despite all the medical imaging technology. My father in law's just had 20 pieces of his prostate taken out through his rectum. (Given the entry/exit path, start you on strong anti-biotics before the procedure). He's an intelligent man and I guarantee you he wouldn't be going through that agony for no good reason.

      Real life's not like Startrek or CSI.

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    3. Re:Necessary? by Pronkzilla · · Score: 5, Informative

      I am a pathology resident who has done about ten autopsies and from my limited experience I can say that this practice is absolutely necessary. The reasoning behind sectioning the brain is to obtain tissue for histologic examination (i.e. under a microscope). This is done to correlate clinical or radiologic findings with actual disease processes. A simple example would be a case of a small brain hemorrhage, where the radiologist thinks he/she sees some bleeding in a certain area of the brain. On autopsy, we can slice up the brain, take sections to be processed and placed on a glass slide, and actually look at the brain microscopically to confirm that there was indeed hemorrhage in the area of brain suspected by the radiologist. Also, brain sectioning/microscopic evaluation can reveal lesions or abnormalities that are not visible to the radiologist (i.e. early Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.)

    4. Re:Necessary? by RobVB · · Score: 2, Funny

      You damn youngsters don't even know how to have some fun anymore...

      --
      I'd rather you rationally disagree than irrationally agree.
    5. Re:Necessary? by complete+loony · · Score: 1

      ... not that this helps the patient very much.

      --
      09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
    6. Re:Necessary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On autopsy, we can slice up the brain, take sections to be processed and placed on a glass slide, and actually look at the brain microscopically to confirm that there was indeed hemorrhage in the area of brain suspected by the radiologist.

      Of course, you can train a machine learning system the same way and, in fact, create an archive of cases to teach humans and computer systems alike.

    7. Re:Necessary? by tsalmark · · Score: 1

      no, but it could help future thousands.

    8. Re:Necessary? by Tynin · · Score: 1

      No, but it might help the next patient.

    9. Re:Necessary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      look up the resolution for the most advanced MRIs and CTs and get back to us (hint: the detail is quite low).

    10. Re:Necessary? by jeffb+(2.718) · · Score: 1

      Yes, this. Our lab is pushing the limits of conventional MRI (as opposed to the nanoscale "MRI" that's been in the news lately), maximizing resolution in a volume just large enough to hold a rodent brain. We can get down to 20 microns routinely, and 10 microns with heroic efforts; there's a pretty hard limit at 5 microns. There are good reasons to believe that we'll never be able to generate an MRI volume that resolves individual synapses and axons. For that, you need optical histology.

      CT can in principle provide very high spatial resolution, especially if you start with a beam from a synchrotron. But the contrast in soft tissue is just about worthless -- you can get spectacular images of bone microstructure, but brains are pretty much uniform gray blobs.

      So, yes, it's quite necessary. But if it makes you squeamish, we won't make you watch.

    11. Re:Necessary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are they freezing it instead of fixing it in formalin or plastic first? Freezing causes all sorts of freezing artefacts especially on delicate tissue such as brain. Freezing artefacts are a major problem with interpreting intraoperative frozen sections. I definitely prefer histological sections from a brain fixed properly over several weeks and then sectioned and stained properly. You have to have nicely fixed tissue for immunohistochemical staining and I think the cytogenetic mob get all very upset too as the freezing ruptures the cells membranes. Anyway, it's not like there's a hurry to have a diagnosis immediately....(But then again it would make really BORING video streaming..... Maybe I should read the article first..... nah....)

    12. Re:Necessary? by Qeyser · · Score: 1

      Definitely necessary. MRI has a visual/spatial resolution of about 10^-3 meters; microscopy has a resolution of about 10^-6. Its like the difference peering through the window of a bookstore vs being able to go inside and read.

      In addition, depending on how you prepare the tissue, you can investigate the protein or genomic content of the neurons and learn about their functional properties (as well as their structure). Along with functional MRI, this technique is the bread-and-butter for learning about normal and abnormal brain function in humans.

    13. Re:Necessary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're kidding, right? The voxels in an average MRI are around 2mm per side (CAT/PET scans are much worse). That's millions of neurons in one chunk. These slices could be viewed under a microscope and individual neurons could be seen (at least in theory... some sort of staining might be required). Much more information can be gathered from those slices than from an MRI. So... yes!

      Not to mention that at this point you would have to do something to the brain to stop it from decaying anyway, and all of those "things" are pretty ghoulish.

    14. Re:Necessary? by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      If he’s patient.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    15. Re:Necessary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if it makes us hungry? :/

  29. Obligatory quote by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    "Mmmmm.... Brains! (drool)" -- Zombie Homer Simpson

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  30. Re:Streaming? Not any more by daeley · · Score: 1

    Well, in all fairness, the camera operator got a splitting headache. ;)

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  31. Re:Streaming? Not any more by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

    Is that to say that you didn't do well on an exam where the subject was neuroanatomy,

    or that you didn't do well on an examination of YOUR neuroanatomy? (That'd be awkward...)

  32. Shaved ice by Kenoli · · Score: 1

    Finally a delicious cold treat for zombies.

  33. Re:Streaming? Not any more by buswolley · · Score: 1

    No comment.

    --

    A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

  34. Nice headline by aylons · · Score: 2, Funny

    Brain of Patient H.M. Being Sliced, Streamed Live At first, I understood that his brain was sliced and streamed (just like pasta) while he was still alive. It only took a second, but was an indeed creepy thought.

    --
    This comment may contain speech figures. Reader discretion is advised.
  35. I just donated for 10 slices worth by Slutticus · · Score: 0

    Can't wait to see the results. I remember this guy from my cognitive psychology course.

    1. Re:I just donated for 10 slices worth by adamdoyle · · Score: 1

      Can't wait to see the results. I remember this guy from my cognitive psychology course.

      maybe, but he doesn't remember you...

    2. Re:I just donated for 10 slices worth by Lord+Maud'Dib · · Score: 1

      But he knew how to get there, he just couldn't remember where he was going!

  36. Re:Limited bandwidth and limited prospective audia by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 1

    They must require the same server to do the slicing.

    It now says:

    We are going to cut through the entire brain over the next 50 hours.

    --
    You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  37. needs Memento tag by ChrisCampbell47 · · Score: 1

    This post needs to be tagged with "Memento".

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/

    1. Re:needs Memento tag by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 1

      Memento was a great film, but absolutely inaccurate factually.

      Clive Wearing has anterograde amnesia (same thing as H.M.). He spends his day (and has for the past 20 years) writing "I am awake for the first time." over and over again, in a variety of ways in a diary. He crosses out previous entries as he doesn't remember writing them, and often becomes extremely agitated when he reads them, scrawling over page after page, believing (temporarily) that someone is attempting to fool him.

      Much more upsetting than that, though, is that a member of his close family died some time ago, and he was quite fond of her. They used to tell him that she was dead, but he'd become extremely upset, but then forget why he was upset. They now tell him that she's gone to the shops, or some other similar fabrication.

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    2. Re:needs Memento tag by cnvandev · · Score: 1

      I believe it's more accurate than you'd think, having been praised by several physicians and neuroscientists as a "close to perfect" representation of anterograde amnesia.

  38. uhhhhhhhh... by adosch · · Score: 1

    Should I be making popcorn and get a glass of soda for this? I've said this before... "...only on the internet would I *ever* be exposed to see this."

    1. Re:uhhhhhhhh... by trouser · · Score: 1

      Turns out you don't need to be exposed to see this. I watched it fully clothed.

      --
      Now wash your hands.
    2. Re:uhhhhhhhh... by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      He didn’t say you need to be. Only that, only on the internet would you be.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  39. Screw Up? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seems like something is not working right. I started to watch at 00:15 GMT and they just started after a break.However, the slice got all rolled-up and the woman in red obviously didn't like it. And afterwards they kept changing speeds but it still doesn't seem to be working.

    Would be interesting how they account for the missing brain...

    1. Re:Screw Up? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would be interesting how they account for the missing brain.

      Easy. It comes from AGW deniers!

  40. Re:Limited bandwidth and limited prospective audia by timeOday · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The video is working just fine for me. Besides, there really isn't a "legitimate" audience for this; you can't do any brain science by watching the video, its value is purely as a curiosity whether you're a brain surgeon.

  41. Re:Limited bandwidth and limited prospective audia by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

    It's a curiosity. There isn't really a "legitimate audience." Rest assured, the resulting slides, which are actually of interest scientifically, will be available via more than a live webcast.

  42. Are you... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

    Just tried to connect and get a timeout error...

    Are you mocking H. M.?

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  43. like a porn site for zombies!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing to see here.

  44. Paraffin slices are very useful by damn_registrars · · Score: 3, Informative

    If they are making paraffin (yes as in wax) slices of the brain, it could lead to some very useful research. One research application in particular that has been of great value is tissue MALDI mass spectrometry. Essentially, from a wax section we can now evaluate protein expression across different cell types. When looking at unusual tissue, the ability to study differential protein expression is a fundamental technique to understanding what makes the tissue different.

    So for those who are wondering what the application of this is, there are many.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:Paraffin slices are very useful by Slashcrap · · Score: 1

      If they are making paraffin (yes as in wax) slices of the brain, it could lead to some very useful research.

      Yeah, sorry. They're actually just throwing them out the window one at a time and watching them flutter away. They mark them with their initials first, and whoever gets the longest distance wins the sweepstake.

  45. Something screwy w Firefox... by IonOtter · · Score: 1

    Tried to view it at work with Firefox, and it crashed. Hard. It didn't even pull up the crash reporter. Tried it twice, same results.

    Viewed it just fine in MSIE, though. Might be something in my addons...

    *Firefox Gecko/20091102 Firefox/3.5.5
    *NoScript 1.9.9.18
    *AdBlock Plus 1.1.1

    --
    [End Of Line]
    1. Re:Something screwy w Firefox... by XanC · · Score: 1

      Same thing happens to me every time I do a Wolfram Alpha search.

    2. Re:Something screwy w Firefox... by trouser · · Score: 1

      Just lucky I guess.

      --
      Now wash your hands.
  46. idiot test by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you thought that they were slicing the brain of a liver person, then you are an idiot.

    1. Re:idiot test by Kyont · · Score: 1

      With apologies to anyone currently undergoing transplant surgery, aren't we all liver people?

      (Ahh... there's so much bile on Slashdot...)

      --
      You shall see a cow on the roof of a cotton house.
  47. Anybody else read that headline as: by Tuffnutz · · Score: 1

    Brain of Patient H.M. Being Sliced, Steamed Live

    --

    _ The bureaucracy is expanding to meet
    the needs of an expanding bureaucracy.
  48. I'll never think of cold-cuts the same way again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This reminds me of the deli/bucher's shop where they have those large meat slicers...Yuk, now I'll think of this every time I eat cold-cuts. "I'll have half a pound of swiss cheese and 3/4 lbs of the olive loaf, thinly sliced."

  49. Sliced Live by Barbarian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    For a second I thought this would be about some cruel and unusual punishment in a third-world country.

    1. Re:Sliced Live by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or Guantanamo?

  50. Re:So... (offtopic) by mandolin · · Score: 1

    The first time I saw the "brain" scene ...

    I was eating vermicelli at a Vietnamese restaurant, with a bunch of kids running around the tables, and Hannibal was playing (muted) on their big screen TV.

    :-( I don't recommend that.

  51. Mmmmmm... by db10 · · Score: 1

    Should I bring a fork or a spoon?

  52. Just watched a slice by icepick72 · · Score: 1

    I bet one of them soon wonders how a slice of that might taste on a bun with Arbys sauce heated in the microwave. Juicy? Delectable? Just keep watching. Irresistible.

  53. Modern Brain Science Is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... like IT specialists slicing an Intel (or AMD) CPU into pieces in order to find out why Windows 7 is malfunctioning.

  54. Re:Streaming? Not any more by dargaud · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's exactly how I read the story title: "Brain of patient H.M. being sliced, steamed alive". And my first thought was, why, it's so much better fried after being rolled in bread crumbs... That was 1st thing in the morning, before coffee.

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?
  55. A tooth, on a gear assembly ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    in an engine... when removed, causes the engine to emit a clunk once per revolution.

    One could surmise, the intent of the placement of the tooth is to avoid a once per revolution clunk.

    One would be only partially correct.

  56. HM is really... by seniorcoder · · Score: 1

    Hannah Montana. Famous for causing many people to wish they suffered from long-term amnesia.

  57. For something related (and even more squicky)... by JCCyC · · Score: 1

    I give you the Visible Human Project.

  58. Can someone explain something about this? by darniil · · Score: 1

    I was watching the feed for a few minutes, and I couldn't figure out how this was beneficial. I mean, admittedly the feed was lagging for a few seconds every few seconds, but it looked to me as if the slice, (as it was being sliced off), was bunching up on the blade. On top of that, the operator removing the slice seemed to be just wiping it off of the blade with some wand-like instrument. How can this benefit science if the brain slices just get wadded up?