BBC Focus - 04.2020_

SCREENS ARE GOING TO SEND

ME BLIND

Manyofusspendlargechunksofour

livesstaringatcomputerscreens,

smartphonesandtablets.Longperiods of

screentimecancauseheadaches,

eyestrainandblurredvision– all

symptomsofa conditionthat’sbeen

termed‘computervisionsyndrome’. This

is causedbyoureyeshavingto

constantlyworktokeepfocusedoverthe

shortdistancetothescreen.Wealso

blinkthreetimeslessfrequentlywhen

usinga screen– just5 timesa minute–

whichmakesoureyesdryanditchy.

However,studieshavesofarfailedto

findanylinkbetweenscreenuseand

long-termeyehealthconditions,suchas

short-sightedness or cataracts. One

20-yearstudyattheOhioStateUniversity

foundthatchildrenwhospentlong

periodsinfrontofa computerscreenor

televisionwerenotanymorelikelyto

needglasseslaterinlife.However,

spendingatleast 14 hoursa weekplaying

outsidehasbeenshowntoreducethe

chancesofbecomingshortsightedlater.

Thismaybebecausebrighteroutdoor

lightlevelsstimulatethereleaseof

dopamine,whichslowsthegrowthofthe

eyeballandmakesit lesslikelytobecome

distortedlaterinlife.Onceyoureach

adulthood,thebestyoucandotoreduce

eyefatigueis takea breakfromthe

screenevery 20 minutestogazeout of

the window for 20 seconds.LV

10

ThenumberofbabySiamese

crocodilesspottedinCambodia

• thespecieswaslongthought
  to be extinct in the wild.

10

EXISTENTIAL FEAR OF THE MONTH...

RACHELCAMPBELL,VIAEMAIL

WHYDOES

BOLOGNESE

SAUCE STAIN

MY PLASTIC

CONTAINERS?

Theculpritforthosestainsis a brightred
pigmentintomatoescalledlycopene.This
moleculeis ‘hydrophobic’(itrepelswater),
andsoareyourplasticcontainers.
Hydrophobicmoleculescometogetherin
ordertominimisetheircontactwithwater,so
thepigmentclingstothecontainers.The
hydrophobicnatureoflycopenealsomeans
thatit resistsattemptstocleanit withsoapy
water,andthehightemperaturesina
dishwashercandrivestainsevendeeperinto
yourplasticcontainers.Trysprayingthe
insideofyourcontainerwithoilbeforeuse,
whichmayhelptoprotecttheplasticby
givinglycopenesomethingelsetocling to.
Otherwise, reach for the bleach.ED

Q&A