Oh my that the 80s were golden days for both Carpenter and Croenenberg. They don't make movies like these any more. Whatever you want to say, this movie is A-list, not a B-list. One telltale is the really excellent special effects (just look at the final scene where the main characters' veins are bloating, lively).
And here is a totally unrelated overlynerdish tech-link for real life scanning of things:
The X(3872)Files: Scanning for new mesons
