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Inspiring mom of 3 runs race of a lifetime to qualify for world championship
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As if being a mom and full-time real estate agent aren't hard enough, Sara Vaughn is also a world-class athlete. - photo by Michael Sackley
Michael Sackley
FamilyShare
Published: Jul 18, 2017, 1:01 PM
If you're a mom, you know how challenging it is just to find five minutes to exercise. For many elite athletes, taking time out of training and competition to have a baby can fundamentally change their career. But one mom is proving it's possible to have kids and beat out 27 other women to make a world championship team.

Sara Vaughn is a mother of three daughters, full-time realtor and a runner. In June 2017, she qualified in one of the most hotly contested events on the track: the 1,500 meter race. Her third-place finish at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championship qualify her to compete with the U.S. team going to London for the biennial world championships in August.

For Vaughn competing in an elite sport and being a parent have always gone hand in hand.

"I had my first kid in college, and I never knew any different," she told reporters after her race. "I was never really a good runner before I had kids. That all came after Kiki was born. I had her my sophomore year of college. And I started getting better after that, and we had our second one after we graduated college. And it was just life. I never really knew any different."

Success on the track didn't come easy. As a student athlete at the University of Colorado Bouder she tried to train as part of a team, but as a mom she found it difficult to fit everything in. So this year she and her husband tried something new in an attempt to place higher than her previous personal best: seventh at last year's Olympic trials.

"There's a big change that happened at the beginning of the year where my husband's coaching me now," she said. "We've just been able to focus on what I need to do, and I don't have to build my schedule around a team. It's been really selfish sort of. Like I get to work out when I need to work out or sleep in when I need to sleep in, and I think that's been the big shift."

Even then, she admits that her "days are crazy," and training is "not always the primary focus." But in a sport where most athletes wait to have children until after they've retiredor at least taken a step down in competitionVaughn has proved that it's possible, and maybe even more enjoyable, to be both a mother and a world-class athlete.
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.