By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Too late now, but your mom was right: Your high school GPA mattered
Girl with school book
Too late now, but your mom was right: Your high school GPA mattered - photo by Metro Creative Graphics
Eric Schulzke
Deseret News National
Updated: Jun 27, 2014, 1:00 PM
Published: Jun 25, 2014, 4:25 PM

Mom was right. A new study published in Eastern Economic Journal finds a strong correlation between high school GPA and earnings later in life. Not altogether surprising, but the strength of the connection is very strong.

The study found that one point of higher high school GPA raised income by 12 percent for men and 14 percent for women.
“Conventional wisdom is that academic performance in high school is important for college admission," said study lead author Michael French in a statement, "but this is the first study to clearly demonstrate the link between high school GPA and labor market earnings many years later.”

“High school guidance counselors and teachers can use these findings to highlight the importance of doing well in high school for both short term (college admission) and longer term (earnings as an adult) goals,” French said.

In an interview with Slate, French noted that we won't all get richer if high school teachers started giving better grades. Rather, grades may be simply a marker for internal drive.

"He cautioned that while his paper's findings show a strong correlation between grades and pay, it doesn't prove a causal link," Slate observed. "But it’s not difficult to think of ways pay and grades might relate. A student’s high school GPA is a good predictor of whether he will finish college, and generally, more education leads to more pay. The ability to slog through high school biology and Spanish class also may well just be a good indicator of intrinsic motivation."

The impact of GPA played out in a variety of measures, the Washington Post noted in a review of the study.

"The findings also show that people with better grades were more likely to keep studying after high school," the Post noted. "For instance, a one-point increase in GPA doubles the chance for both genders that a person will complete college, increasing that probability from 21 percent to 42 percent. Better grades were also linked to a greater probability of going to graduate school and earning another advanced degree."

Email: eschulzke@desnews.com
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
93cbd7a5475cccd1cee701424125d3abaa9b4beaa58d3663208f656cbbbd7661
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.