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Surgeon Swears Human Head Transplant Isn't a 'Metal Gear Solid' Publicity Stunt

Jason Koebler writes: Dr. Sergio Canavero wants to become the first surgeon to perform a human head transplant. But some discerning gamers noticed that a doctor shown in the trailer for Metal Gear Solid V looks almost exactly like Canavero, leading some to speculate that it's all a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming game. Canavero, however, filed a sworn affidavit with Italian police in which he said Konami illegally stole his likeness, and that he has nothing to do with the game.

4 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Dubious by CastrTroy · · Score: 5, Informative

    See, it couldn't possibly be him, everybody knows the real Konami Code is:

    up,up,down,down,left,right,left,right,b,a

    The Start/Select-Start isn't part of the actual code, but rather just get's you into the game. You need to use Select if you want to play 2 player.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  2. Translating from the Italian police declaration... by monkeyzoo · · Score: 4, Informative

    He declared on April 20 that he received an email from the UK with a link to the YouTube trailer of the game containing his likeness. He thinks they used a video of him from a TED conference as the basis and retouched it. He subsequently began receiving many harassing phone calls from a UK telephone number. He then says he found an Italian language website about the game with a link to a fraudulent Twitter account in his name (he claims to have no Twitter, Facebook, or other social media accounts).

  3. Re:I hope it's a publicity stunt by Shadwhawk · · Score: 3, Informative

    Because the procedure is entirely untested, even in animals! He hasn't even shown he can partially heal a severed spinal cord in a rat using his technique, let alone performing a successful head transplant. I'm all for experimental procedures in extreme cases, but there's a difference between "Ok, we're ready to try this in humans now after a decade of animal and human tissue tests, though you've got a 99% chance of dying anyway" and "What if we replace his burned skin with fruit leather? This propylene glycol will give it sensation and blood vessels, I'm sure of it!"

  4. Re:Common sense here folks by idontgno · · Score: 5, Informative

    "paralyzed from the neck down" == "suffocating in minutes", since all respiratory impulses are carried on the somatic spinal nerves controlling the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles. Never mind the fact that severed autonomic nerves means no information from or control of any organs: digestive system shuts down, heart never responds to physiologic need and could spontaneously fibrillate... most organ systems shut down.

    Sorry, it's absolutely required to effectively re-fuse the entire spinal cord plus the independent segments of the parasympathetic nervous system (such as the vagus nerve) through the dissection plane. Otherwise, you're just attaching a head to a dying body.

    --
    Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.