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Harvard students invent cake in a can
Man Baking
Man Baking - photo by Metro Creative Graphics
Faith Heaton Jolley
Deseret News National
Updated: Jul 28, 2014, 12:00 PM
Published: Jul 24, 2014, 4:48 PM

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The laziness and/or genius of humans rose to a whole new level after two Harvard students invented a cake that sprays from a can.

John McCallum and Brooke Nowakowski were both students at Harvard when they created their fast-and-ready dessert. McCallum came up with the idea as his final project during his freshman-year Science and Cooking class,according to Time magazine.
McCallum turned to the concept of how a can of whipped cream works — he used an accelerant mechanism that releases air bubbles inside the batter, so baking soda and baking powder aren't needed. Once the batter is sprayed into a cupcake tin or cake pan, the dessert can be cooked in the microwave for 30 seconds to one minute and — voila! — ready-to-eat cake.

McCallum was excited to have a creative idea for his lab project, but his now-girlfriend, Nowakowski, said she thought the idea had a lot of potential.

“He was just like, ‘Cool. Lab project,’ ” Nowakowski told the Boston Globe. “But I thought it could go somewhere.”
The students won $10,000 for their invention in the Harvard College Innovation Challenge on April 7, according to The Harvard Crimson. McCallum told the school newspaper that the money enabled their product to become “a solid and prepared business.”
Now, McCallum and Nowakowski are hoping to patent “Spray Cake.”

Email: fheaton@ksl.com.
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.