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This 3-year-old singing Reflection from Disneys Mulan is stealing everyone's heart
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She's so good. - photo by Alex Phippen


On the surface, Claire Ryann Crosby appears to be no different than your average 3-year-old little girl. She has a contagious smile, loves princesses and has seen Pixar's latest movie, Finding Dory.

However, Claire is far from average.

She first hit the scene earlier this year in January when a video of her singing "Part of Your World" from Disney's The Little Mermaid was posted on YouTube. The video now has over 10 million views and little Claire has become somewhat of a Shirley Temple for the digital age.

Claire's latest music video was posted earlier this week and features her singing the song "Reflection" from Disney's Mulan. While wearing her own Mulan dress, Claire showcases her beautiful singing voice as she strolls throughout the Seattle Chinese Gardens.

Not surprisingly, Claire's dad Dave Crosby is also a musician and is the mastermind behind the YouTube videos. In a recent interview with babble.com, Crosby talked about how he decided to share his daughter's talent online after she made an impromptu performance while they were waiting for an oil change.

It made everyone in the waiting room laugh and people were pulling out their cell phones and recording it. It just made everyone there really happy, Crosby said.

Crosby was a big part of one of Claire's recent videos in which the daddy-daughter duo sang "See the Light" from Disney's Tangled. The video was made during a lantern festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The future looks bright for Claire, and the Crosby family has said that they will continue making videos with her as the star.
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.