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Statements posted on this blog represent the views of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for Law Science & Innovation (which does not take positions on policy issues) or of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law or Arizona State University.

Tuesday Triple Trivia for March 3, 2015

TTT5

3 Questions. 3 Hints. 3 Answers. Every Tuesday.

1. What recent takedown request screamed of schadenfreude?

Hint:

Answer: the wrinkle occurred when a revenge porn website operator realized he became the target of alleged unauthorized use of his own photos and information.  The “victim,” Craig Brittain filed a takedown request with Google for material publicizing his settlement with the FTC in connection with his revenge porn website.  The website solicited nude photos intended to cause shame and embarrassment to others and further extorted $200-$500 to have the images removed from the website.  It is unlikely, however, that Brittain’s information qualifies for removal under last year’s Court of Justice of the European Union ruling.  What goes around comes around.  Read more here.

2. What near future medical advancement gives new meaning to the phrase “my head isn’t screwed on straight”?

Hint:

Answer: no, we are not referring to a hair transplant, rather, a head transplant.  It appears the first human head transplant could happen in two years.  It does not help to ease one’s discomfort that the same experiment has been unsuccessful in animals.  The first step in moving forward is to pinpoint scientists who might be interested in pursuing the project.  The idea is to “extend the lives of people whose muscles and nerves have degenerated or whose organs are riddled with cancer.”  Challenges include fusing the spinal cord and head rejection (just like organ rejection) — and a country that will welcome the procedure.  The concept will be unveiled at the annual conference of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons in Annapolis, Maryland, this coming June.  Read the details here.

3. What is the latest breakthrough in police sketch artistry?

Hint:

Answer: potentially another scoring point for DNA.  In order to identify a murder suspect, police in Columbia, S.C., recently released a sketch generated by a computer relying exclusively on DNA found at the crime scene.   DNA phenotyping (determining an individual’s physical traits, including his or her face, skin, hair and eye color) is different from how crime scene DNA has been used to date.  It is considered to be a valuable breakthrough — as long as the DNA sample collected is a good one and the methodologies are shown to yield accurate results.  However, some, like Kenneth Kidd, a professor of genetics at Yale, are skeptical about the technology in that faces are very complex, making the process more difficult than its proponents like to advertise.  Given its infancy, further validation studies need to be undertaken to support the accuracy of the various approaches.  In fact, one published analysis “explained only about 23 percent of the variation in faces and the genetic variants did not really add much detail.”  There are also concerns that DNA phenotyping will contribute to racial profiling and Fourth Amendment violations.  Development in the area has relied on analysis of DNA and faces of people with mixed West African and European ancestry, thereby leading “to a technology that is better able to make faces that are African-American.” Unfortunately, the Columbia, S.C., sketch has not generated any leads — yet.  Read more here.