Blue lights leads to aging

 

In news:

• Prolonged exposure to blue light, such as that which emanates from your phone, computer and household fixtures, could be affecting your longevity, even if it’s not shining in your eyes.

 

Important facts:

• • New research at Oregon State University is revealing  that the blue wavelengths produced by common electronics damage cells in the brain as well as retinas, even if they are not shining in your eye.
  • The study was based on experiments conducted on the Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly. The work was led by Jaga Giebultowicz, a researcher in the OSU College of Science.
  • Blue wavelength produced by light-emitting diodes damage cells in the brain as well as retinas, according to a new study in a model organism.

 

What is Blue light?

• Blue light isn’t some special form of light that only comes from computers and LED lights - it’s actually all around us. I

• Blue light is the visible light spectrum with the shortest wavelength and highest energy, and similar to ultraviolet rays, blue light has both benefits and dangers.
• The light spectrum consists of UV, visible and infrared light.
• Visible light accounts for 50% of the light spectrum and, as the name suggests, it’s the only part of light that can be detected by the human eye (UV and Infrared Light are both invisible). These different colored light rays contain different amounts of energy.
• Light is measured in wavelength, the units of which are nanometers (nm) and millimetres (mm).
• Visible light has a wavelength range in the region of 400 to 760nm, with high energy visible (HEV)  light falling somewhere between 400 - 500nm. It’s called high energy visible light because the blue/violet band of the visible spectrum has a particularly high frequency.

 

Facts related to Blue light:

• Blue light is everywhere:Sunlight is the main source of blue light, and being outdoors during daylight is where most of us get maximum exposure to blue light. But there are also many man-made, indoor sources of blue light, including fluorescent and LED lighting and flat-screen televisions.
• HEV light rays make the sky look blue: The short-wavelength, high-energy light rays on the blue end of the visible light spectrum scatter more easily than other visible light rays when they strike air and water molecules in the atmosphere. The higher degree of scattering of these rays makes the cloudless sky look blue.
• The eye is not very good at blocking blue light:Anterior structures of the adult human eye (the cornea and lens) are very effective at blocking UV rays from reaching the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eyeball. Less than one percent of UV radiation from the sun reaches the retina, is someone aren't wearing sunglasses.
• Blue light exposure may increase the risk of macular degeneration: blue light penetrates all the way to the retina (the inner lining of the back of the eye) is important, because laboratory studies have shown that too much exposure to blue light can damage light-sensitive cells in the retina.
• Blue light contributes to digital eye strain: Because short-wavelength, high energy blue light scatters more easily than other visible light, it is not as easily focused. If someone is looking at computer screens and other digital devices that emit significant amounts of blue light, this unfocused visual "noise" reduces contrast and can contribute to digital eye strain.

 

Impact of blue light:

• • Daily Exposure to Blue Light May Damage Cells in the Brain and Retinas.
  • The flies exposed to blue light exhibited damage to their retinal cells and brain neurons and had impaired locomotion. 
  • The researchers note that exposure to blue light disrupts one’s circadian rhythm, potentially resulting in sleep disorders, issues with hormones, and more.

 

Source)

thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/blue-lights-leads-to-aging/article29748090.ece