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She's still not getting paid for it, but Mom's value went up again
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Mom's market value for efforts around the house continue to climb, according to the annual Mother's Day reckoning from Insure.com. - photo by Lois M. Collins
All those little things a stay-at-home mom does for the family from cooking and cleaning to hauling the children to piano lessons have kicked her monetary value up another notch. If, that is, she were paid for the things she does for kin and kind.

Every year, Insure.com tallies how much time moms spend on different household-related tasks and comes up with an assessment of what the job's worth, based on prevailing average wages.

This year, Mom's market value is $65,284, according to the 2015 Mother's Day Index. That's 3.7 percent more than she was worth last year and 9.1 percent more than in 2013, said a written release from Insure.com, an independent website offering consumer information about insurance.

The valuations are based on the most recent median wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When Insure.com surveyed people, it found that 24 percent of folks think that's about the right range if one's putting a dollar value on Mom's labor, placing it at between $50,000 and $75,000. Another 33 percent said it should be more, while 43 percent said it was worth less.

Insure.com said it's interested in the question of Mom's value because it's important to know when deciding how much life insurance to buy. If a stay-at-home parent weren't present, the services would have to be purchased, according to Catherine Theroux, spokeswoman for LIMRA, which does financial consulting and research.

Here's a sample of what it would cost to hire someone to do some of what Mom does around the house, based on the annual report:

  • It would likely cost about $7,371 to do the cooking, of which Mom does an average of 14 hours a week, with a mean hourly wage of $10.13.
  • Homework help is even more, at $7,720, with just under eight hours a week, since the mean average wage is $19.30 an hour.
  • The biggest chunk of the cost is for Mom's services as a child care worker: 40 hours a week at $11.10 an hour, for $23,088.
  • The costliest-per-hour service Mom provides is keeping track of what her brood is up to. That five hours a week adds up because private detectives and investigators make a mean hourly wage of $25.91.
  • Mom does provide haircuts at bargain-basement prices, worth a total of $309.40 a year.
Salary.com puts Mom's stay-at-home value even higher. Last year it said she was worth $118,905 based on 40 hours of full-time pay and 56.5 hours of overtime (time-and-a-half) every week. The titles attributed to her various jobs included facilities manager, CEO, laundry operator, computer operator, housekeeper, cook, day care teacher, van driver, janitor and psychologist.

It noted that working moms put in more than full time, too, crediting them with 40 hours regular work and 19.4 hours overtime, for a value of $70,107, based on a job with average pay. That amount would go up or down depending on Mom's actual outside-the-home occupation.
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.