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Diet Coke makes some massive changes, launches four new flavors
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Diet Coke will make it so that its cherry and lime flavors are only available on Amazon. - photo by Herb Scribner
The Coca-Cola Co. announced a massive makeover to its Diet Coke brand, adding a slew of new flavors and a sleek new design, while also slashing some old favorites from its lineup.

The new flavors feisty cherry, ginger lime, twisted mango and zesty blood orange and the original Diet Coke flavor will be packaged in tall, thin cans that have a distinct stripe to identify their respective flavors, according to BuzzFeed News.

Rafael Acevedo, Coca-Cola North Americas group director for Diet Coke, told BuzzFeed that Diet Coke hopes to appeal to millennials with the new brand.

"We love the essence of Diet Coke and we dont want to throw it away just modernize it so we can re-express it for a new generation of fans," Acevedo said in a statement.

We know Diet Coke has all kinds of fans from people who have loved its great taste since it launched in 1982 to millennial men and women who are always looking to try new things. Were modernizing what has made Diet Coke so special for a new generation," he added. "The same ... great Diet Coke taste people love is here to stay, but were making the brand more relatable and more authentic.

The cherry and lime flavors will only be available on Amazon.

According to Uproxx, the Coke brand is making a play for LaCroixs audience.

Coke obviously would like a piece of the LaCroix game, but whether it can grab it is another question. Maybe they can start by explaining what makes their cherries so feisty.

LaCroix is a popular drink thats swept the nation over the past few months. The Wisconsin-based drink even appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, according to the Deseret News.

The drink sits well with millennials, too, since it avoids traditional marketing and has marketable, multicolored labels, Business Insider reported.

"With millennials these days, it's all about authenticity and discovery, and they are suspicious of mainstream advertising messages," Duane Stanford, the editor of the industry publication Beverage Digest, told Business Insider.
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.