aliens

While NASA has been busy sending friendly messages out into space, it's overlooked one important issue. What if the aliens aren't friendly? Haven't the folks at NASA watched the "Alien" movies? A Kickstarter project is aiming to counteract NASA's open-arms policy by blasting a satellite into space with a less likeable version of humanity onboard.

In the 1970s, NASA sent two Pioneer spacecraft out into the universe bearing plaques with directions to Earth and illustrations of naked humans to show what extraterrestrial visitors could expect upon arrival at our humble planet. Ridiculo.us, creators of the Your Face in Space Kickstarter, is more concerned about warding off hostile invasion forces from beyond our solar system.… Read more

I am sure you'd watch. I am sure your kids would be fascinated.

And yet, it is not to be. The BBC will not be doing a live show in which scientists try to talk to aliens.

You might be wondering why this would be.

Thankfully, Professor Brian Cox, a celebrated particle physicist and TV presenter (and former member of the band D:Ream), revealed that Britain's most august news source was a little scared of the kind of news it would make.… Read more

It's important to prepare your baby for a life of geekiness at an early age. Halloween is a great opportunity for this, especially if you have the skills to build a Power Loader costume from "Aliens" with your baby standing in as Ripley.

Awesome dad Jason Smith did just that. It took him two nights and a day to put the large and elaborate costume together out of cardboard boxes and hot melt glue. His little daughter is safely strapped into a Baby Bjorn with a roll cage for added protection. There's even a rotating light on top.… Read more

Some screams come from the gut.

Yes, just like that horrible monster thing in "Alien."

Now scientists with only extreme discovery in their locker of ambition have decided to learn, once and for all, whether a scream in outer space can awaken alien ears.

The Cambridge University Spaceflight team behind this experiment are truly committed explorers.

They have created a video featuring Albert Einstein -- or at least a posh-speaking version of him.

The idea is very simple. They want you to go to YouTube and record your best and most frightening, piercing scream. Indeed, the scientists want you to scream "in a creative way." … Read more

I've become a bit of a worrier of late.

Not because I worry about the coming election, Windows 8, or things that seem to move in my fridge.

No, it's the idea that with man proving he can leap in from outer space, outer-spaceans might try to do the same.

I am sure that our government will want to reassure us. I know that President Obama has told NASA to call him the minute aliens land.

But how can we possibly defend against outerworld beings? We don't seem terribly good at defeating inter-world ones.

Thankfully, I bring … Read more

Chances are you had to dissect a frog in high school biology class. What if it had been a Mogwai instead? Artist Bradwick J. McGinty III has created a bizarre mashup of science fiction creatures and vintage anatomical drawings imagining what fictional beasts look like under their skin.

The Mogwai doesn't look as cute and cuddly as usual in this form. The illustration hints at its sinister transformation into a Gremlin through the care and feeding instructions at the bottom of the drawing. Better keep an eye on those feeding times!… Read more

An offhand Twitter comment about a "Giger counter" launched a maker into a project to build a Geiger counter done in the style of "Alien" creator H.R. Giger. It's a pun come to creepy, wonderful life.

Steve D of Mad Art Lab combined a half-scale human skeleton model, a Geiger counter kit from Adafruit, some flexible tubing, and plenty of Carbon Mist metallic paint into a disturbing-looking Geiger counter.

The Geiger counter part of the creation does actually work. It makes all the right blipping sounds and a red LED lights up on the back of the alien creation's "head."… Read more

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.

Few science fiction creatures are as misunderstood as the Facehugger monster from the "Alien" movies. It really just wants to hug your head and impregnate you with its horrific offspring. What's so wrong about that?

You can show your sensitivity to the plight of the Facehugger with a custom corset from prop and costume maker Rage Custom Creations. The Facehugger corset misses the face mark a little bit, but makes up for it by lovingly grasping your midsection and chest.… Read more