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Have You Seen This? Cardists incredible floating cards
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No Caption - photo by Martha Ostergar
Martha Ostergar
KSL.com
Published: Sep 6, 2015, 2:09 PM
FLOATINGTON Without preamble, I can virtually guarantee that this video from cardist Zach Mueller will make you pause and say whoa.

To fully understand this video, we must first understand the practice of cardistry. The best definition I found was on Reddit, which described cardistry as the art of creating fascinating motions and formations with a deck of playing cards.

Just think of your favorite street performer from So You Think You Can Dance doing crazy-specific and minute moves with just their hands (or hand illusions, as the kids say), then add the handling of playing cards into the mix.

Its not exactly traditional magic card tricks, and its not exactly dance. Its cardistry.

Los Angeles resident Mueller has these sweet, sweet cardistry skills, and in this video he uses those skills to make cards appear to float or stay in one place as his hands crawl around the cards. Its a fascinating and awe-inspiring practice, and its more than worth a 1.5 minutes of your time. But I suspect you will watch it more than once.

Mueller has his own card company called Fontaine, selling the type of cards he likes to use as a cardist. He also has a demo and a beginner tutorial video if you wish to learn more about how to be a cardist.
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.