How #PokemonGo Turned Couch Potatoes Into Fitness Fanatics Without Them Even Realising It

Gotta catch ‘em all. Stoyan Yotov / Shutterstock.com

By John A Parkinson, Bangor University
Pokemon Go is taking the world by storm. Within days of its US release, its number of daily active users caught up with longstanding apps Twitter, Snapchat and Google Maps, and it became the biggest mobile game in US history. Since then, the game has been launched worldwide, creating a user base which spends more time playing Pokemon Go than the average Facebook user spends on site.

What Do Aliens Look Like? The Clue Is In Evolution

Well, maybe. BagoGames/Flickr, CC BY-SA

By Matthew Wills, University of Bath
Speculating about what aliens look like has kept children, film producers and scientists amused for decades. If they exist, will extra terrestrials turn out to look similar to us, or might they take a form beyond our wildest imaginings? The answer to this question really depends on how we think evolution works at the deepest level.

A Star Trek Actor's Tragic Death Sparks Legal Action

An Untimely Loss
The tragic death of actor Anton Yelchin recently has generated widespread publicity. The young star's loss focused extensive media attention on problems associated with electronic gear shift safety issues.

The acclaimed film star perished in an auto accident in his driveway on June 19th. This month, his parents, Victor and Irina Yelchin, filed a lawsuit against automaker Fiat Chrysler alleging that defects in the actor's Jeep Grand Cherokee precipitated their son's death.

World's First Crew To Mars Is Likely In Middle School Right Now

Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, has partnered with Discovery Education to launch the next phase of Generation Beyond, an initiative to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to prepare today's middle school students nationwide for deep space exploration.

#PokemonGo Trainer Travels Across America to Catch 'Em All for Wounded Warrior Project

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Chadwick James poses with staff, during his cross country adventure to raise awareness and support for WWP. (PRNewsFoto/Wounded Warrior Project)

Over the years, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has had many supporters travel the nation in support of its mission to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. These have included cross-country bike rides, visiting every Harley-Davidson dealership in the nation, and walking along the East Coast of the United States to name a few.

Now, a new supporter has begun a very unique cross-country journey.

"I'm a gamer, and I want to do something for my fellow veterans because there's no one more important than them," said Chadwick James of Team Mystic, which is one of three teams Pokemon Go players can join within the app. "What could I do? Most people don't understand the hardships veterans face or what they've been through, and Wounded Warrior Project is my favorite charity because it helps veterans. I decided to combine these two passions and hit the road."

Chadwick announced on Twitter that he would cross America over the course of a year, on foot, bicycle, and bus, playing Pokemon Go and trying to "catch 'em all," while raising awareness and support for WWP and the warriors it serves.

New TV Series 'Hunting Nazi Treasure' Asks Public To Join Hunt For Priceless Objects Missing Since WW2

Robert M. Edsel, Founder and Chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, holds one of five paintings the Monuments Men Foundation discovered and turned over to the Federal Republic of Germany in 2015 for return to their rightful owners. These paintings are part of the hundreds of thousands of cultural items, missing since the end of the war, which the Monuments Men Foundation hopes to help recover in the coming years. (PRNewsFoto/Monuments Men Foundation)

The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art is pleased to announce its participation in a new original investigative television series, Hunting Nazi Treasure. 

The new co-production between Corus Entertainment's HISTORY Canada and More4 (Channel 4), is produced by Saloon Media (Toronto) and BriteSpark (UK), with production set to begin this September. 

Hunting Nazi Treasure will air on HISTORY in Canada in 2017.

The series will feature a team of present-day investigators led by Robert M. Edsel, Founder and Chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and the author of the New York Times #1 Bestselling book-turned-movie The Monuments Men. 

Joining Edsel on the team are investigative journalist Conor Woodman and World War II historian James Holland.

Who Are Spider-Man’s Greatest Opponents?

In the realm of superhero comics, it’s probably fair to say that no hero has a more recognizable lineup of opposing villains than Batman. The Joker, Riddler, and Penguin are all household names for anyone even the vaguest interest in popular fiction, and they’ve all been immortalized in animated and live action films alike. And those are just the heavy hitters! Batman has many more antagonists who, frankly, are more interesting and more well known than anyone the Avengers have faced in a film thus far.

But if there’s a silver medal for superhero with the best villains, it probably goes to Marvel’s lovable, web-slinging Spider-Man. There’s always been a colorful cast of baddies associated with this teenage superhero, to the point that it’s difficult to argue which is his main opponent. But that’s just what fans are beginning to do, as we gear up for the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the beginning of a new superhero series.

Michael Moore: '5 Ways to Make Sure Donald Trump Loses'

The following is an email from Michael Moore I received yesterday... and, like I used to do in the past with some of his previous emails, I'm very happy to share it on here. 

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

What The Bourne Films Get Right And Wrong About Amnesia

Not quite an amnesiac: a scene from ‘The Bourne Ultimatum.’ Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures

By Jennifer Talarico, Lafayette College

In 2002’s “The Bourne Identity,” our protagonist wakes up having been shot and plucked, unconscious, from the Mediterranean on to a fishing boat with no memory of who he is or how he got there. From there, the movie franchise follows Jason Bourne as he recovers memories of past events and rediscovers his identity.

But, although Bourne’s amnesia at the start of the first film in the series is profound (and profoundly important to the unfolding story), we quickly learn that there are some things Bourne does remember from his past. For example, how to speak multiple languages, how to drive and how to fight. All of these are complex motor tasks that he learned before he was shot and fell in to the water.

This aspect of Bourne’s amnesia is actually quite accurate. For people with “organic” amnesia (where neurological memory loss is typically due to damage to the medial temporal lobes in the brain), memory for skills and habits is intact, even though other memories are lost. There is truth to the cliché that you never forget how to ride a bicycle.

Donny Trumpet Goes to the Election: Art Imitates Life in New Cautionary Tale

Donny Trumpet Goes To The Election by Nazan Saatci (PRNewsFoto/Nazan Saatci)

After four years of running Birdland, it's time for Black Bird to retire. Candidates flock to take his place, including the yuge yellow bird Donny Trumpet--and his presidency could have disastrous results for Birdland. That's the premise behind the new illustrated e-book Donny Trumpet Goes to the Election: The Story of a Yuge Yellow Bird, released this week by author and illustrator Nazan Saatci 

Let's Take A Stand Against Racism In The Media! [Petition]

Image via Avaaz.org

The Sun newspaper has launched a shocking attack on Channel 4 just because newsreader Fatima Manji reported on terrorism while wearing a headscarf. Fatima has already lodged a formal complaint -- let’s stand with her against racism and create the biggest ever mass complaint to the press watchdog. 

>> Click here to sign the petition 

How Do Horses Get To The Rio Olympic Games?

Horses bound for the Rio 2016 Olympic games are loaded onto an Emirates SkyCargo Being 777-F at London Stansted Airport. On the flight were 34 horses from 10 of the nations competing in Equestrian at Rio 2016" (FEI/Jon Stroud media) (PRNewsFoto/FEI)

By plane of course!

The first group of Olympic horses departed from London Stansted Airport (UK) a few days ago (29 July) on a special cargo plane bound for Rio 2016, marking the start of the Olympic dream for the world's best equine athletes.

With 34 horses from 10 nations on board, the equine cargo worth multiple millions, was loaded into customized pallets for the almost 12-hour flight aboard an Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777-F which left the UK at 15:20 BST .