According to a LiveScience report, researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine have used DNA testing on the fossilized skeleton. Despite the figure being only 6 inches long, the testing revealed that it comes from a human who was 6 to 8 years old when they died.

The researchers have not yet determined what deformities may have led to the obviously strange skeletal figure. The age of the skeleton has also not yet been determined, though the current estimate is that the person it belonged to died “at least a few decades ago.”

The tiny skeleton is featured prominently in a new documentary by noted UFO conspiracist Steven Greer, titled Sirius.

Judging from the movie’s trailer, Greer isn’t too interested in proving that extraterrestrials exist – he takes that as a given. Instead, he seeks to expose a purported conspiracy of corporate interests and oil conglomerates to keep alien technology a secret

Today, the game has officially launched, and reviewers have, sadly, reported that the game is a lackluster shooter dressed in Alien garb. The Metacritic average for the Xbox 360 version of the game is only a 50 – far below last week’s sci-fi horror release Dead Space 3.

Critics cited poor graphics, glitches, and poor enemy AI as elements that make the game’s single player campaign bland. The game’s class-based multiplayer modes, however, have been praised in more than one review.

Sega says that Aliens: Colonial Marines will receive four DLC add-ons throughout 2013 that add more campaign and multiplayer content. The first of which is called Bug Hunt, and it features a cooperative multiplayer mode that has players taking down hordes of Xenomorphs across three new maps based on the Aliens film. The DLC is scheduled to arrive at the end of March.

As for the other DLC add-ons, Sega says that everything will be out by the end of August of this year. You can preorder all of the DLC now as part of the season pass that gives players all four add-ons for $29.99. The content will be available separately as well, but it will apparently cost 40 percent more that way.

The Season Pass is already available for preorder on Steam for 10 percent off. It will be available on Xbox Live and the PSN soon.

There’s still no word on when the Wii U version of Colonial Marines will be made available, or if it will get the same offer of a season pass. The delayed release of the Wii U version may also mean that Gearbox will include the first DLC add-on for free with the Wii U version, or at least we can hope.

In that context it’s understandable that Alien and shooter fans alike may be wary of how the game will play. The latest trailer for the game, released today by Gearbox, attempts to split the difference. To do this, heavy action scenes similar to those in the “Kick Ass” trailer are set to some low-key instrumental music and given a few Zack Snyder-style slow-mo sequences. It’s reminiscent of the old Gears of War “Mad World” trailer, but with explosions and face-huggers.

Whatever Aliens: Colonial Marines actually turns out to be, we’ll all find out next week when the game is released on February 12.

Luckily for Aliens fans, there is always another game just around the corner, which means another opportunity for a new developer to get things right. Next week, Gearbox will release Aliens: Colonial Marines and show the world what it thinks an Aliens multiplayer mode should look like.

A new multiplayer trailer for the game shows that at least some thought has gone into the experience. Colonial Marines will have access to a plethora of customizable weapons and explosives. Xenomorphs, on the other hand, will have 3 different classes to choose from: “soldier,” “lurker,” or “spitter.” Each class has customizable attacks, such as camouflage, disorienting smoke, or acid spit. The trailer even shows off a special class called the “boiler,” which can self-destruct its own head to rain acid onto its opponents.

On Monday, Sega released the TV spot for Gearbox’s take on one of the best sci-fi franchises to ever grace film – Alien. Aliens: Colonial Marines is set up as the proper sequel to Aliens and Alien 3 after Alien Resurrection failed to impress anybody. The game takes place on LV-426 – the setting of the original two films. The game will take after Aliens, however, as it will be more focused on action instead of scares.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will probably be the first great shooter of 2013. It will also be interesting to see how Gearbox handled development on the Wii U as previous AAA action games, like Black Ops 2, were reportedly worse on Nintendo’s new console. Gearbox has spoke highly of the platform, however, and the extra time in development should make it a unique standout in the Wii U’s abnormally large launch window.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U on February 12.

This robotic exoskeleton, however, brings to mind the famous end battle of James Cameron’s Aliens film.

More cool (and nightmare-inducing) robots here.

It appears, at least, that Gearbox has captured the look and feel of Aliens. Also, the story in the game’s campaign is a direct tie-in with the first three Alien movies. Whether or not it has managed to also provide that constant “I’m being hunted” sense of dread and despair is another question.

Gearbox is the same developer who brought the gaming world Borderlands 2 – one of 2012′s best shooters – so it’s worth it to keep an eye on Aliens: Colonial Marines. The game is currently scheduled for a February 12 launch in the U.S.

It remains to be seen whether the gameplay and design of the game will impress players, but it appears the developer has at least provided a relevant story. The new story trailer released over the holidays shows that the game is a direct sequel to the Aliens and Alien 3 movies.

Players will take on the role of marines who are investigating the strange reappearance of the spaceship U.S.S. Sulaco, last seen orbiting the planet Fury 161 in Alien 3.

Microsoft recently wrapped up the Global Ortho program here in the U.S. The project sees Microsoft capturing aerial imagery of every nook and cranny in the continental United States. To prove their point, Microsoft provided a map that shows how much land they were able to cover:

As you can see, they were able to get the entire U.S. except for two small areas in the Southwest. Microsoft says that they got clearance to photograph everywhere in the U.S. except for Area 51 and the Vandenberg Air Force Base. The larger of the two yellow areas is Area 51. I didn’t realize the U.S. government needed that much land to hide the existence of alien spacecraft.

All joking aside, Microsoft got some great aerial imagery. They were able to capture the entire U.S. at a 30cm resolution. They concede that other people have captured aerial imagery at higher resolutions, but nobody has captured the entire landmass of the continental U.S. at 30cm resolution until now.

Let’s do a little comparison test for now. Here’s Google’s aerial imagery for the University of Kentucky with a close up on William T. Young Library.

And here’s Bing’s GO shot of the same building and surrounding area.

In all honesty, it’s hard to tell which is better at this distance. The Bing maps provide a much better view of really close up shots, but Google trumps that advantage with their impressive Street View.

Comparisons aside, the Bing Maps team has been able to get some great imagery of our country. It’s even more surprising that they were able to get such great shots of lesser known areas. It’s still unfortunate, however, that the Bing Maps team were not able to get shots of Area 51.