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Have You Seen This? The most nightmarish way to get rid of a cockroach
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If you think cockroaches are bad, wait until you see how this guy gets rid of it. - photo by Angie Treasure


IN YOUR NIGHTMARES I've never lived anywhere that has giant cockroaches.

I've spent the majority of my life in Utah, which doesn't see the kind of roach infestations that people in muggy southern metropolises like New Orleans and Houston experience. I can only imagine how much it would make you itch to turn on a bathroom light and have an exoskeletony, antennaed invader skitter into the unreachable recesses of a room. By the way, I'm pretty sure "skitter" was an onomatopoeic word invented JUST for cockroaches.

So if the idea of that makes your skin crawl, you may not like this video posted by Jason Shivers on YouTube.

A resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, Shivers filmed himself getting rid of an American cockroach in the most bizarre example of lesser-of-two-evils I've ever seen, and I'm not sure I'll ever recover.

Shivers simply captioned the video, "Why I didn't kill our giant bathroom friend," and in the footage, he gently uses a mitted hand to escort a cockroach into the corner of the room's molding where the roach's fate lies in wait. And oh my goodness, am I at a loss for words. Just watch. And schedule an appointment with the pest control guy.

Who else is itchy?
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.