Blue light from digital devices kills cells in the retina

Colombo (News 1st) - Optical chemistry research at The University of Toledo has revealed that Blue light from digital devices and the sun transforms vital molecules in the eye’s retina into cell killers. The process outlined in the study, which was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, leads to age-related macular degeneration identified as one of the major diseases that lead to the cause of blindness in the United States. According to the co-author of the study, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Dr. Ajith Karunarathne Blue light emitted from smartphone and laptop screens speeds up blindness by transforming vital molecules in the eye’s retina into cell killer. Their experiments explain how this happens, and they hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop. Macular degeneration, an incurable eye disease that results in significant vision loss starting on average in a person’s 50s or 60s, is the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. As explained by Dr. Karunarathne, those cells need molecules called retinal to sense light and trigger a cascade of signaling to the brain. Photoreceptors are useless without retinal, which is produced in the eye and continuous supply of retinal molecules help a person to see well. To protect your eyes from the blue light, Karunarathne advises wearing sunglasses that can filter both UV and blue light outside and avoid looking at cell phones or tablets in the dark. Mechanisms and researches will be further carried out to find a way to protect the vision of children growing up in a high-tech world from these blue light rays.