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Chemists Discover How Blue Light Speeds Blindness
Isao writes: It (apparently) has been known that blue light damages eyes and accelerates macular degeneration. A new article on Phys.org may have identified how this happens. It seems that unlike other light colors, blue causes a necessary molecule (retinal) to permanently kill photoreceptor cells. "The researcher found that a molecule called alpha Tocopherol, a Vitamin E derivative and a natural antioxidant in the eye and body, stops the cells from dying," reports Phys.org. "However, as a person ages or the immune system is suppressed, people lose the ability to fight against the attack by retinal and blue light." The authors will continue their research and recommend filtering and blue-light reduction in the meantime. The study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
When I worked at Motorola in Schaumburg, a few people in the 70+ person group got the idea of bringing small plastic fish to code reviews and other meetings. Team building, or some such. It was an "in crowd" thing, and much like the Sneeches, it got ridiculous, at one point. So I sent out a group email proclaiming a new counter-movement called "PAIN - People Against Ichthyoid Nonsense." Shortly after, the fish thing at meetings quietly died. One of the senior members of the group - this guy actually had a doctorate in some field of biology, but preferred to work in software engineering - asked where I got the word "ichthyoid." I told him I read it in a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.