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Science

Getting More Face Time 242

Posted by michael from the face-the-music dept.
ApharmdB writes "The BBC has a story about the possibility of performing face transplants within the year. Obviously, people are worried about the ethical ramifications, but would someone with your transplanted face actually look like you? Either way, everyone better be careful, or Nicolas Cage may try to steal their family."
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Getting More Face Time More

Getting More Face Time

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  • Another link (Score:5, Informative)

    by TeknoHog ( 164938 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:09PM (#4768248) Homepage Journal
    New Scientist article [newscientist.com]

  • I'll keep mine, thank you (Score:4, Funny)

    by L. VeGas ( 580015 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:10PM (#4768253) Homepage Journal
    It took a long time to mold my nose into the shape of my boss's rectum.
    • Trust me. You can take my face if you want, but if you want to be me...well, no, you don't want to be me. Unlike other people, being me requires hell of a lot more than having my looks. You need to do stuff like code all night, run around in circles flapping your arms, eat all kinds of weird crap, not bathe very often, and also (perhaps as a result?) not get laid for months at a time.

      Being me ain't easy. You've been warned.

  • Cage (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    He can _have_ my family, especially for thanksgiving. I don't know if it's because grandpa stopped wearing pants or uncle ed gets loopy on pernod, but holidays just aren't what they used to be.

    Maybe if they're lucky he'll bring those tripped-out alka-seltzer tablets that did him right in the movie.

    bleh.

  • Forget transplants... (Score:3, Funny)

    by cyt0plas ( 629631 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:12PM (#4768280) Journal
    How about modular faces you can switch out at will?
    Tom Cruise on Monday...
    Brad Pitt on Tuesday...
    Weird Al on Wednsday...

    Ebay won't let you sell body parts, but maybe you can sell your face on uBid :)
    • Oooh! I'm getting Six Million Dollar Man Maskatron [bugeyedmonster.com] flashbacks! [shiver]

      Add new realistic competition to your bionic adventures. Shrewd! Strong! He can fool your friends with mask disguises. His robot body is full of electronic pretend gadgetry-two "weapon" arms make him ALMOST invincible! Only you and Steve Austin know where to strike MASKATRON and "pow"-arms, legs-even his head flies off! Dressed in civilian clothes.


      MASKATRON has two special weapon arms. Vice grip arm, and super suction arm make him an almost invincible foe of Steve Austin.

      MASKATRON face masks make him look like Steve Austin or Oscar."

  • Jacko (Score:5, Funny)

    by red_dragon ( 1761 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:12PM (#4768283) Homepage

    Uh... well, I don't know where Michael Jackson got his face from, but the nose is obviously from another planet.

  • Why do I imagine that Michael Jackson ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06@@@email...com> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:13PM (#4768289)
    was the tragically unsuccessful guinea pig for most of this experimentation? It would explain so much. Trying to give that poor man the face of some long dead woman.
    • I beg to differ. I think Michael Jackson funded much of the research in this area so that he can enter what he calls 'Phase 2'.
    • I can see it now: Support Oposition on Facial Transplants


      Under the above statement, a picture [wxii12.com] of Michael Jackson taken that day in court.


      Under the Picture: Don't let THIS happen.

  • Face-Off II.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) <jhummel.johnhummel@net> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:13PM (#4768294) Homepage
    Inside a dark room, the man who calls himself Linux Torvalds awakes.

    Linus: What...what has happened to me?

    Stands up, groggily making his way to the mirror - but what looks back at him isn't his face, it's...Steve Balmer!

    Linus: Nooooooo!

    Meanwhile, thousands of miles away at Linuxworld....

    Hacker (in crowd): Hey, is it just me, but did Linus gain like 300 pounds?

    Hacker2: Totally. The guy needs to go back on his mac n' cheese diet.

    On the stage, a man who's face looks like Linus's is jumping about the stage, clapping his hands.

    Steve: Developers, developers, developers....!

  • I support this (Score:3, Funny)

    by Uhh_Duh ( 125375 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:13PM (#4768295) Homepage
    Due to the fact that parents are now 34% more likely to have ugly children, I fully support this. (If that statistic sounds wrong, it's because I made it up).

    I wrote an editorial on a topic similar to this right here [glug.com]. It makes a strong case for the right to choose what humans should look like. (Note to those with no sense of humor: Clicking this link will ruin your day).

    • Re:I support this (Score:2, Interesting)

      by stratjakt ( 596332 )
      actually, due to natural selection, the human race is getting prettier.. There's been legitimate research to back this up, I was watching about it on TLC.

      Basically, good looking people get laid more than the ugly ones.
      • actually, due to natural selection, the human race is getting prettier.. There's been legitimate research to back this up, I was watching about it on TLC.
        Basically, good looking people get laid more than the ugly ones.
        I find this counterintuitive. Of course, good looking people get laid more than the ugly ones, but that's exactly the reason I'd expect them to be less willing to spoil their fun with having kids/wives/husbands.
        • Of course, good looking people get laid more than the ugly ones, but that's exactly the reason I'd expect them to be less willing to spoil their fun with having kids/wives/husbands.

          Because on average the traditionally "attractive"* girls act like stupid bimbos and get knocked up.

          * My idea of "attractive" and societies idea of the same don't exactly line up.
      • Since ugly people can only get laid by other ugly people, what we are looking at is not so much a case of the human race getting prettier as it is a case of there being a widening gap between the beautiful and the ugly... a sort of "Beauty Divide" if you will.
        If that sounds innacurate, then... well, okay, I just made it up.
        • <quote> Since ugly people can only get laid by other ugly people ,,, <quote>

          That's why beer was invented.

          Example marketing slogan: "(insert brand of beer) - helping ugly people have sex since 1863"

          If it wasn't for the effects of beer and most males' penchant for indiscriminately fucking anything remotely female with a pulse, the human race would probably have fallen below its' replacement level long ago.

  • eewwww..... (Score:5, Funny)

    by cybermace5 ( 446439 ) <g.ryan@macetech.com> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:15PM (#4768318) Homepage Journal

    Imagine your body deciding to reject the transplant, on the bus to work, in the morning....

    Most people would try to hold the face on with one hand and grope for the cell phone to call up a doctor. The typical Slashdot reader would stand up and bellow something about stealing souls.

  • Reconstructible faces (Score:3, Interesting)

    by seangw ( 454819 ) <seangw.seangw@com> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:15PM (#4768319) Homepage
    This would go great in conjunction with growing human organs and tissue from human DNA.

    Imagine having a backup of your own face, just in case you get into a facially disfiguring accident. Instantly, you have your "old" face back.

  • Not the story (Score:4, Funny)

    by mfago ( 514801 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:16PM (#4768325)
    that one should forward to one's spouse...

  • How long before... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CommieLib ( 468883 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:17PM (#4768333) Homepage
    The insurance claims start rolling in for the "facially challenged"...

    Seriously though. This seems to take plastic surgery to an entirely new level. If my old face was destroyed in an accident, I might think for a few moments about getting Mel Gibson's face as a bolt-on.

    Of course, without quite a few hours on the treadmill it's not exactly going to have the desired effect, but doesn't this open up a Pandora's Box for copyright issues...
    • good luck getting Mel to give his up. doesn't there have to be a donor to do a transplant?
      • Ideally, I suppose, but like another poster noted, it's mostly the bone structure that determines what someone's face looks like.

        What the story really relates is that surgery has advanced to the degree that all of the fine nerve and blood vessel work that is necessary to make a face more than a "skin mask" is in place. To get "Mel Gibson", all I really need is an intact face, heavy :( maxillofacial surgery / facial implants and a surgeon that has done some facial transplants.

        Oh, and the aforementioned hours on the treadmill ;).
    • Hmm, who holds the copyright for my face? Me, my parents, or God? Or do we all hold copyright together? What about other members of society for various amendments and adjustments, like scars, etc?
    • If I recall correctly, clowns trademark their faces, and somewhere all the registered faces are stored, painted on egg shells. If a clown wears another clown's face without permission, the law suit is over trademark violation.

      Which brings up an interesting point; should actors trademark their own faces? I've heard that the actors from Cheers have already had problems with people using their likenesses without permission. The movie The Crow showed that it's possible to put an actor's face on a stunt double if there's budget for it. Having a trademark on your likeness could be an important part of acting in the future.

      Of course, if Hollywood were like the music industry, the studio would want to hold the trademark. It would sure suck if you quit, but your contract said you couldn't act anymore because the producers own your face. Even worse, they keep on making movies using your face a la S1m0ne.

      Pandora's box really opens up when you happen to look like Mel Gibson, and you want to go into acting, but you can't because your face infringes on his trademark. In a particularly barbaric world I could even see the ruling stipulate that if you want to act you must get a facial scar of some sort. Even in this (only semi-barbaric) world, I really don't think that I'd want, as a judge, to have to set precendent for facial infringement and how close the match needs to be to qualify. How would you even measure that?

      With any luck the courts would simply throw it out, but with the amount the Studios can afford to pay their lawyers, who knows...

  • Rejection (Score:3, Insightful)

    by redfiche ( 621966 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:18PM (#4768342) Journal
    I have to think it would be pretty ugly if the recipient rejected the transplant. If that happened, what could be done? With what remained of your original face gone, you'd be left with a collection of grafts and prostheses. I wouldn't take that chance. I certainly wouldn't take the chance for aesthetic reasons.

    • Transplants can kill recipients (Score:5, Interesting)

      by McSpew ( 316871 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:46PM (#4768625)

      Of all the reasons to have a transplant, getting a new face might be the stupidest one I've ever heard.

      Recently, doctors have begun experimental arm transplants for amputees. The first ever recipient had to have the transplanted arm removed and has said on record that if he'd known then what he knows now, he would have decided against the transplant.

      In addition to the risk of rejection, there's the very real danger caused by anti-rejection drugs which suppress the immune system. Scientists believe that immune-suppressing drugs that keep transplant recipients from rejecting their new organs or other items increase their risks of dying from infection significantly. I can't remember the exact statistic, but ISTR that a transplant recipient has something like a one in ten chance of dying within 7 years. Is it worth it to risk your life over a new face? I realize that patients with severe facial damage may want to take that risk, but overall, I'd say it's not worth the risk. Transplants should be reserved for life-saving operations, otherwise the risks are too high.

      • Scientists believe that immune-suppressing drugs that keep transplant recipients from rejecting their new organs or other items increase their risks of dying from infection significantly. I can't remember the exact statistic, but ISTR that a transplant recipient has something like a one in ten chance of dying within 7 years


        I had a cornea transplant over a decade ago. I was given some prednisolone acetate (I think) drops to use for several weeks, but after that was over, I had no further drugs.


        I'm still alive. Maybe it's not *all* transplants, or *all* drugs, that might have the problem? Though I'd rather suspect that a full face transplant would likely be major enough to need major drugs.

        • Is prednisolone acetate an immune-supressing drug?

          The whole idea of immune-supression drugs freaks me out. Surely they aren't persistent. If they were, what's the difference between that & AIDS?

          I'll just keep my old face & whatever, thanks anyway.

    • Re:Rejection (Score:3, Insightful)

      by GT_Alias ( 551463 )
      That's what I was thinking. The article stated:

      At the same time, the recipient would have to have their face, facial muscles, skin and subcutaneous fat removed.

      So you're basically left with bone. And if that new face doesn't quite settle in? Man, wouldn't that be gross? You'd be like Skeletor.

  • but I don't know anyone who wants to look like me, including me! So, I doubt my puss will be stolen any time soon.
  • If a generic face were available as a "loaner", could we go in, have our faces removed, and get them "serviced" to be younger. then after a few weeks/months/years of work, could it be put back on with 15 years taken off?

    Disturbingly enough I find the options here to be limitless.

  • Gaaaaaa! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anthony Boyd ( 242971 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:20PM (#4768366) Homepage

    From the article:

    In addition, advances in suppressing the immune system's response to foreign tissue would give the procedure a better chance of success.

    So what happens if your body rejects your face?!?

    • <quote> So what happens if your body rejects your face?!? </quote>

      I dunno, in many cases (couch potatoes, typical slashdot readers, for example), I think it will be the face rejecting the body!

    • Re:Gaaaaaa! (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      In my experience going to bars, most bodies reject my face.
    • So what happens if your body rejects your face?!?

      You scream out "raarrgghh!! I must find another soul!" in your best demon voice.

  • It's not just the flesh... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by NFNNMIDATA ( 449069 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:20PM (#4768368) Journal
    it's the bone that shapes your face for the most part. That's why they can make those clay facial recreations when they find an unidentified skeleton. And that's also why Face/Off was so ridiculous...
  • I am trying to come up with a obligatory Simpsons reference(and possible link to snpp.com), but I am blank.
    Help

  • Issues (Score:5, Interesting)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) <bittercode@gmail> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:22PM (#4768384) Homepage Journal
    There are a couple issues that come to mind rather quickly--

    The first being that I believe they may be able to start trying to do this in a year but it would take time to get it to work. And I would hate to see what the failures will look like. I would think that rejection would be a major issue. And the bottom line is they've never done this before- there will be bugs to work out.

    The second- is what if they could do the whole deal perfectly? What if you could have some dead persons face?

    I picture someone walking in a mall and they see their son who committed suicide a bit back walking by. Or bumping into a lost spouse.

    This is a much less than ideal solution. I'm not saying they shouldn't do it- but it does need to be really thought out.

    .
    • I would agree.

      I think the main benefit to this surgury would be for those who have either been in accidents (fire, etc - one case comes to mind of a man who had to have 60% of his face removed because of a fungal infection), or those with certain birth defects at birth.

      But there would have to be some caution here. I think the last thing we want is something out of "The Man With Two Brains" - somebody kills Antonio Banderas, and next thing you know his face has been transplanted.

      Makes you wonder if cremations for famous people will become more popular. Hm.

      • Re:Issues (Score:5, Funny)

        by sys$manager ( 25156 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:57PM (#4768713)
        or those with certain birth defects at birth.

        I'd like to meet someone who got a birth defect after birth.
      • "[O]ne case comes to mind of a man who had to have 60% of his face removed because of a fungal infection), or those with certain birth defects at birth."

        That story really freaked me out. It also made me wonder whether the same treatment would have been given to someone with a lot of money, or famous. They "removed" the guy's eyes, eye sockets, nose, teeth, lips, sinus cavities, and cheek bones. Different strokes I suppose, but I cannot relate to the opinion that this is a better outcome than death.

        I mean, if I had to choose between a month to live or that, I'd take the month. In the woods somewhere. Provided euthenasia isn't an option.

        Anyway I've tried to find a follow-up to the story, but found nothing. Lots of interesting info about Mucormycosis though.

        Original article is here:

        http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/03/prosthetic. fa ce/
    • It's not just for fun, of course. This is for people who's faces have been pretty much destroyed. Someone who's been in a terrible fire, for example, and who's face is essentially gone. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but it's probably intended for patients where things can't get much worse than they already are.

      Also, as others have said, deep bone structure is as much a part of your face as the flesh on top. By the time they finished reconnecting everything and making the necessary adjustments someone with a transplanted face probably wouldn't look much like the original donor.
    • > The second- is what if they could do the whole deal perfectly? What if you could have some dead persons face?

      Some kid'll walk up to you and say "I see dead people!" Someone'll probably make a movie about it :)

      >I picture someone walking in a mall and they see their son who committed suicide a bit back walking by.

      That's easy. Public Service Ads.

      "Hi! We're the band members from Nirvana, and this is our new friend Michael Jackson! We'd like to remind you that being a multi-platinum rock star sucks so fucking hard that not even a brand new face can cure that gnawing need for heroin, uh, happiness, that's deep down inside there, and you finally decide to end it all, you should be a responsible citizen! Make sure to do it right! Be like Kurt! Erase Your Face!"

  • This has already happened.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by kbewley ( 461756 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:22PM (#4768386)
    I think this face transplanting has been going on for quite some time. Why, as a student I would go out to a bar and go home with a beautiful stunner. But, next day her face had been 'transplanted' leaving the stunner with the face of a munter. ;-)

  • Face Scanners (Score:5, Funny)

    by All Names Have Been ( 629775 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:22PM (#4768395)
    Take that biometrics!
    • I think in order to defeat biometrics we should all run around wearing masks of former presidents.

      When the biometric systems start showing reagan walking into starbucks in every state at the same time, they'll be forced to take action!


  • The article said 120 people were surveyed and asked whether they would allow their own face to be used for a transplant after they died. All 120 said they would not allow it.


    WTF?! I think it is disgusting that people would not allow this to happen, or even that they would not allow their own faces to be used. What are they, superstitious? WHat idiots....


    I would GLADLY allow my face to be used after my death, except for the fact that my entire head will be resting in a liquid-nitrogen filled dewar soon after my death.

    • I would GLADLY allow my face to be used after my death, except for the fact that my entire head will be resting in a liquid-nitrogen filled dewar soon after my death.
      Me too, I'd just stipulate that the guy who gets my face scares some of the people I don't like by knocking at their windows at night, heh heh.

  • Eddie Murphy (Score:3, Interesting)

    by istartedi ( 132515 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:23PM (#4768407) Journal

    Eddie Murphy did an SNL skit on face transplants that was pretty funny. IIRC, it was like a pitch to encourage people to donate their face, and they had an interview with a white woman who had received a black face. It was a riot at the time... not sure how well it would hold up.

    OK, so science fiction becomes real life alot; but Eddie Murphy jokes? Too unreal.

  • Perhaps Tom Cruise would like a face transplant... He has worn a mask [tvguide.com] in four recent movies -- Mission Impossible [imdb.com], Minority Report [imdb.com], Eyes Wide Shut [imdb.com], and Vanilla Sky [imdb.com]. Something out of the ordinary is afoot...

    Seriously though, I think this will be a great breakthrough for people with facial scarring that is not reparable by conventional means.
    • > Perhaps Tom Cruise would like a face transplant... He has worn a mask [tvguide.com] in four recent movies -- Mission Impossible [imdb.com], Minority Report [imdb.com], Eyes Wide Shut [imdb.com], and Vanilla Sky [imdb.com]. Something out of the ordinary is afoot...

      Yeah, I don't get it. I mean, all the money in the world won't get your own body thetans removed, I can only imagine how many of the little buggers come attached to some random wog's face.

      Leading theory: What if they extracted a few chunks of DNA on some Kool's cigarettebutts smoked by L. Ron Hubbard, wedged 'em into some stem cells, and 20 years later, there's Cruise's face transplant. Cruise then runs for President as the reincarnated Source, and fills HomeSec with OSA employees, and starts executing everyone on the Pacific and Atlantic seabord who's ever eaten clam chowder...

  • You'd still look mostly like you. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by arloguthrie ( 318071 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:27PM (#4768449) Homepage
    It's not as much about the skin, fat, and muscle on your face as much as it is how the bones shape the face. The size of your nose comes from that piece of cartilidge. Cheekbones, size of head, location and depth of eyes, jawline, and smile have nothing to do with what this doctor is talking about transplanting. The only unethical problem would be giving face transplants so you can look like someone else, and I'm sure some Columbian drug cartel's retained plastic surgeon can already pull that off. I don't think this is anything to worry about...yet.
    • The article did mention bone as part of what would be transplanted. Chances are if your face is destroyed, the bone is destroyed with it. IMO the recipient of a transplant would look neither like the donor nor his old self, but something in between.

      I think the biggest ethical problem is someone having this done for aesthetic reasons, regardless of who or what they will look like.

  • The face is probably one of the most unused body parts for organ donors, maybe now it will become a little more important.

    Wonder, where the money would go to buy one of these things, since organ donation is supposed to be non-profit.

  • HOW ABOUT NO FACE? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Eric_Cartman_South_P ( 594330 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:33PM (#4768497)
    Take my face off and keep it off. Just coat me with a thin blue plastic.

    Talk about loving the Aqua skin! Now you can have Aqua Skin(TM).

  • Woot! (Score:3, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:33PM (#4768498) Homepage Journal

    I want Ron Jeremy's face! [ronjeremy.com]He seems to get the chicks, I assume it's just because of his darn good facial features!

  • Enough with the skins already! (Score:5, Funny)

    by seanmeister ( 156224 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:35PM (#4768525)
    Winamp, Mozilla, and now THIS?? You're gonna look might silly when your face doesn't match the remaining native widgets on the rest of your body.
  • So, if this face transplant stuff works, can you make me look like Cindy Crawford? (with the exception of having my hairy legs and spare tire, of course)
  • Hey, these two guys could do with this technology - like now! I can just hear George W's speech.. "We've found that the faces of two international terrorists have been transplicated..."

  • id terrorists (Score:2, Interesting)

    by BigGar' ( 411008 )
    So much for facial identification technology at airports. Hell do the hands while you're at it for the finger prints, if you're not planning on living long who cares what the antirejection drugs do to you.

  • Copyright Violation? (Score:3, Funny)

    by limekiller4 ( 451497 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:44PM (#4768615) Homepage
    I was planning on mapping my own face in case I ever needed to replace it due to some unfortunate accident (and science could manage it), but I just got a cease and desist letter from my mother. Apparently she holds the copyright. =(
    • "
      ...but I just got a cease and desist letter from my mother. Apparently she holds the copyright." -- limekiller4
      Did your dad give up his share of the copyright on your face for your mother's share of the trademark on your name? And don't these expire after eighteen years? Or is it twenty-one?

  • How much of a face is in soft-tissue? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:47PM (#4768632)
    The issue of how close you'd look to the new face, and how much you'd retain of your old is one which has been discussed regarding a procedure of this level, and while there's a lot of character in the skin tone and fat/muscle distribution, the bony underneath of your skull does hold quite a lot of your features. Surgery on transsexuals to change facial features gives some stunning results - it's playing with the features we have most of our ability to recognise - the sex of a person judged by the face. Simply changing the eyebrow ridge from male to female shaped, and chin/jaw resculpting can drastically alter features, as much as any soft tissue.

    For examples, see the photos at;

    authentikate.com [authentikate.com]

    cinematter.com [cinematter.com]

    and

    genderpeace.com [genderpeace.com]

    all who have had this facial feminisation surgery. This is not an example of surgery to make anyone particularly attractive by changing tiny features such as nose size, or a facelift, or lip-plumping, but drastic facial reconstruction, mainly only on the bony features.

    Just some info.

  • ok, seriously (Score:4, Informative)

    by kin_korn_karn ( 466864 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @01:48PM (#4768642) Homepage
    the article (you DID read it, didn't you) seems to indicate that it's being pursued due to the unique nature of facial tissue than about the actual structure.

    For example, burn victims can have skin grafts, but skin from other areas of the body doesn't have the same properties as the skin that naturally develops on the face. Facial skin in particular has a much higher concentration of nerve endings than that on your upper back.
  • ....what you look like now," Logan's Run.

  • Jacko (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gyorg_Lavode ( 520114 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @02:01PM (#4768754)
    I know there's a Michael Jackson joke here somewhere...
  • BOND SPOILERS AHEAD BOND SPOILERS AHEAD

    in the new bond film they do this facial transplant stuff at a cuban island for the wealthy but not so respectable. with bone marrow from street kids. yeah right.

    but since the icarus sun-laser thingy in the movie was based on a real life plan by some soviet scientists to use space mirrors to put siberia in permanent sunlight, then maybe these face clinics are, while not as advanced as able to turn sons of korean generals into arrogant englishmen, somewhat grounded in reality. like everything else in your average bond movie, 2 minutes ahead of reality.

  • There's not a whole lot of danger to this (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Chastitina ( 253566 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @02:11PM (#4768847)
    Facial transplants could help so many, from folks who've survived car accidents to (as mentioned in one article) cancer patients to kids with birth defects. The surgery at best would provide the image of a normal, healthy, whole face, which is how we get a lot of non-verbal information from people. It's not like there would be a strong resemblence to the deceased due to differences in not only bone struction, but also in habitual expressions and personality.

    There's really not much chance of any one person being able to "steal" another's family or life with this technology. The recipient would have to 1) have the same physical structure, 2) be one fantastic actor, and 3) manage to imitate body odor as well. While the third may seem trivial, there's a lot of research regarding pheromone-immune system links to mate selection. The transplanted party's significant others and pets would still recognize him or her via smell.

  • DMCA Takedown (Score:3, Funny)

    by stinkydog ( 191778 ) <sd@s t r angedog.net> on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @02:13PM (#4768876) Homepage
    Will the DMCA takedown provision extended to copyrighted faces? "Rip his face off, he looks just like me". Will the megacorps be able to sneak into our houses and look at our photo albums looking for infringment? Will Al Queida develop a f2f (face to face) network to fool Tom Ridge and his merry band? Can I go faceless for halloween?

    I think it might be time for my new invention:
    The DCMA razor!
    Takes a picture of your face and checks it against it's database
    Shaves Close
    Removes your features if you look like Tom Cruise
    (don't worry, the average /. reader has nothing to fear)

    Profit!?
    SD
  • You could just have a standard model, and buy the face separately.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @02:20PM (#4768946)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Just last night, my wife was also asking me if she could get more face time. "Sure", I responded, "only if I get more head time."
  • He's already got a face transplant from Matthew Sweet.

    Insert obligitory reason for Michael Jackson having kids here.

  • Face Transplant is a lot to say...

    I vote we call it a FacePlant instead.

  • Transgendered people can physically reshape their bodies, though you need a ton of time, money, and ability to cut through miles of red tape. Transwomen can get hormones to grow the chest they want, and Transmen can get their breasts removed with surgery. Sexual-reassignment surgery is long-documented as well. You can even get your Adam's Apple "shaved" down, if you want! (Ouch!)

    One persistent problem for Transpeople to "pass" as their inner gender is their face. Some women faces just can't "wear" a male gender. And in reverse, it can be even harder.

    I guess the Transgendered community can add this to the list of expensive surgeries that can't be afforded.

  • Damn Microsoft zealots changing their skin to the Luna Style [mjds.org]. They have to be members of this network [cjb.net]. :-P

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