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Tour Facebooks new office to see what makes it so successful
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The time has finally come: People can now tour the new Facebook offices, and they dont even have to travel to Silicon Valley to do so. - photo by Herb Scribner
The time has finally come: People can now tour the new Facebook offices, and they dont even have to travel to Silicon Valley to do so.

On Monday night, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted the first-ever live video from Facebooks headquarters, a preview for the Town Hall Q&A that the social network hosted Tuesday afternoon.

In the video, featured below, Zuckerberg takes viewers on a tour of the open-floored Facebook headquarters. Most rooms are made with glass windows, and everything is as sleek and as startup-like as they come.

Zuckerberg attributed Facebooks success to the open-floor office plan his company uses.

The whole idea here is that by having an open floor plan, where people work closely together, it facilities people sharing and communicating about what theyre doing, which enables better collaboration, which we think is key to building the best services for our community, Zuckerberg said. Weve worked like this for a long time, and its been a pretty core way for doing what we do here at Facebook.

The open-floor office plans success has been up for debate in recent years. Offices continue to embrace them because they maximize space and tend to be cost-effective, according to Fortune. Open-floor offices are also known for inspiring camaraderie between workers, according to The New Yorker.

But a 2013 study found that most workers are unsatisfied with open-floor plans because it puts them closer to their bosses and keeps them under constant pressure.

Nearly half of the surveyed workers in open offices said the lack of sound privacy was a significant problem for them and more than 30 percent complained about the lack of visual privacy, according to The Washington Post.

Whether youre a fan or not, Time magazines Levo League recommends workers try their best to embrace their companys open floor plan by visiting colleagues, taking advantage of any alone time they receive and finding new ways to embrace the workplace.

Take the opportunity to become closer to your employees and colleagues, League wrote. Decorate your cube in an interesting way. Make friends with passersby based on the fact that now everyone can see you dancing to Taylor Swift at your desk.
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.