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Pokemon Go brings the past to life as players stumble onto historical markers
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Players of Pokemon Go come for the fantasy monsters but some stay for the factual perspective. - photo by Eric Schulzke
Pokemon Go players are stumbling onto history, the Associated Press reports, as players make their way to historical markers looking for Pokemon paraphernalia, but many end up discovering a world of history around them they had never considered.

Gaming blogger Mike Fahey at Kotaku writes that he is discovering his own town of Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he moved in his 30s. One of his recent Pokemon Go discoveries was a historical marker about local Indian tribes.

"Despite it being located tripping distance from a playground my children frequent, Id never noticed this sign," he writes. "It talks about the Creek and Cherokee, Native American tribes formed after European explorers arrived and decimated a thriving society with fresh disease."

"That I learned this by reading a sign Id overlooked until a Pokmon video game on my cellphone brought it to my attention is pretty embarrassing. That a video game could urge me to learn more about a completely unrelated and infinitely more important subject than Pocket Monsters is inspiring."

The operator of one Virginia-based historical marker website says traffic to his website has quadrupled since the game began.

"The game has delighted Anthony Golding, a middle-school history teacher in Tupelo, Mississippi, who is looking forward to incorporating Pokestops into his curriculum in the fall," according to the AP.

Golding "has replenished his Pokemon wares where the Civil War's Battle of Tupelo was fought, at monuments to civil rights movement figures, and at a pedestal that holds the Tupelo Meteorite. But Elvis Presley holds the monopoly on Tupelo's Pokestops, from his birthplace to the Main Street store where he got his first guitar."

But there are limits, and the operators of some historical sites object to the Pokemon-ification of their domains. Earlier this month the National Holocaust Museum issued a statement asking patrons not to use their phones to play the game while visiting the site.

"Playing the game is not appropriate in the museum, which is a memorial to the victims of Nazism," Andrew Hollinger, the museum's communications director, told The Washington Post. "We are trying to find out if we can get the museum excluded from the game."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.