No movie monster is more menacing than the mysterious “xenomorph” (yes, small “x”–I’ll get to that). It’s ruthless, cunning, heavily armored, and filled with acid. Ever since we first saw H.R. Giger’s now infamous design come to life in Alien, fans have wanted to know more about the deliberately vague creature. Unfortunately, in the nearly 40 intervening years, xenomorph biology has become even more complicated, confusing, and sometimes contradictory. Let’s take off our helmets like “good scientists” and see if we can figure out how these monsters really work.

In my latest Because Science, I’m breaking down the xenomorph life cycle based on both what we’ve seen in the films–even Prometheus–and what we know can happen in nature. It turns out that the original xeno life cycle was based on something very real (and very terrible)…wait…do you hear something?

Like I was saying, the original xeno life cycle was much more plausible than you think. Then Prometheus happened. How the heck does the “black goo” figure into chestbursters and facehuggers and queens? Can we draw up something that will pull the cycle out of the shadows? Check out my latest episode above to find out!

Thanks to Mack Weldon for sponsoring today’s episode. Check out mackweldon.com &  get 20% off using the promo code SCIENCE.

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