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Can you rely on Social Security?
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JJ Feinauer
Deseret News National
Updated: Jun 6, 2014, 12:00 PM
Published: Jun 5, 2014, 8:21 PM

Social Security is too popular to ever be allowed to go away, at least that's what CBS News' Steve Vernon thinks.
"Social Security will be around as long as democracy reigns," Vernon wrote Thursday. "As long as workers are paying FICA taxes, there will be money to pay for Social Security benefits for retirees and their beneficiaries."
Vernon is right about at least one thing: Social Security is very, very popular. According to Gallup, 82 percent of Americans plan on relying on Social Security as either a major or minor source of income. The Pew Research Center also found in a 2013 study that 41 percent of Americans think the government should increase spending on Social Security, with 46 percent saying the U.S. should maintain current spending. Only 10 percent said they believe cuts to the program are necessary.
"While Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support cutting Social Security, that’s still a decidedly minority position," Pew's Drew Desilver wrote.
However, as Vernon suggests in his article for CBS' Moneywatch, the entitlement's popularity hasn't stopped many Americans from worrying about the program's future.
"Starting in 2010 … taxes collected weren't sufficient to fund that year's benefit payments," Vernon explained in his article, a fact that Pew also pointed out in its FactTank report on Social Security.
"Social Security’s reserves will be fully depleted by 2033," Desilver wrote. "After that, while the system will still be receiving tax revenue, it will only be enough to pay about three-quarters of scheduled benefits." While commentors such as Vernon are optimistic about legislators fixing Social Security's future, DeSilver believes that "unless Congress changes the benefit formulas, raises the payroll tax, or makes other changes such as raising the cap on taxable wage income" there is little hope for the future of Social Security.
Email: jfeinauer@deseretdigital.com, Twitter: jjfeinauer.
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
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
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.