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What we can learn from the impending Homer and Marge Simpson split
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After 26 seasons of blissful TV marriage, Marge and Homer Simpson will be splitting up. - photo by Shelby Slade
After 26 seasons of blissful TV marriage, Marge and Homer Simpson will be splitting up.

Al Jean, the shows executive producer, said in an interview with Variety that Homer and Marge will separate during the 27th season of The Simpsons.

In the premiere, its discovered after all the years Homer has narcolepsy and its an incredible strain on the marriage, he said. Homer and Marge legally separate, and Homer falls in love with his pharmacist, whos voiced by Lena Dunham.

This has come as a shock to some fans simply because the famous television couple has been together for so long.

It is ridiculous. No animated married couple ... should have any problems, Margarita Noriega wrote for Vox. They aren't part of a reality television show. This is a show about family, and I need emotional stability in my animated series.

For those still reeling from this news, its important to note that Homer and Marge have split before, Christine Mai-Duc and Julie Westfall reported for the LA Times. In season 8, Homer divorced Marge because he felt she could do better, but they remarried by the end of the episode.

It was also revealed 12 seasons later that the person that officiated their marriage had not been licensed to do so, the LA Times wrote. So, technically, they were never even married, and the show continued on as though nothing was different.

Television often reflects the stereotypical family because it makes shows more relatable, which explains the unbreakable Cleaver family from the 50s TV show Leave It To Beaver.

But divorce has become more common in television shows in recent years. It seems that every major sitcom has at least one minor character with a struggling marriage or that has already been through divorce, as is the case with Louis C.K. from Louie and Don Draper from Mad Men.

Yet the divorce rate is actually falling in America, despite the popular misconception that half of marriages end in divorce and the numbers are looking good.

The divorce rate hit its peak in the 70s and 80s and has been falling ever since, Claire Cain Miller reported for The New York Times.

If the divorce rate continues to fall at its current rate, two-thirds of marriages will not end in divorce, Miller wrote.

There are many reasons for the drop in divorce, including later marriages, birth control and the rise of so-called love marriages, Miller reported. These same forces have helped reduce the divorce rate in parts of Europe, too. Much of the trend has to do with changing gender roles whom the feminist revolution helped and whom it left behind.

And for fans of The Simpsons, there is always hope that Marge and Homer will get back together. They will just have to wait until the season premiere in September of 2016 to find out.

So dont worry. Love may not be completely dead yet, as Mashable worried.
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.