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Cheat Sheet: Today's news in 60 seconds

Your speedy update on all the day’s big stories Friday, April 4 2014

A Facebook update saved this little girl’s sight.

Tara Taylor recently posted a photo of her three-year-old daughter Rylee on Facebook and received some shocking feedback. Two of her friends who saw the image noticed that Rylee’s left eye had a strange glow. Ms Taylor had assumed the glow was simply a result of the camera’s flash, but her friends encouraged her to take her daughter to a doctor because they were worried it might signal a problem with Rylee’s eye. Ms Taylor took Rylee to her GP where she was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Coats’ disease, which can cause blindness unless, like fortunately is Rylee’s case,  it’s detected early. MS Taylor says she feels extremely lucky that a sing photo saved her daughter’s sight.

Husband tells: The moment a shark took Chris.

Rob Armstrong, the husband of Christine (right), who was killed by a shark yesterday morning at Tathra Beach, southern NSW, has spoken about the moment his wife was taken.  Rob and Christine were swimming with their regular swimming group when they noticed the shark. "We got them together and former a barrier. We thought everything was safe and we just hugged each other and then we found Chris wasn't in the change rooms. We immediately got on the IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat) went out and very shortly we found evidence that Chris is no more," said Rob. The 63-year-old's goggles and swimming cap were found this morning.

Sorry, it's illegal to call your son that.

A father in Germany has been banned from naming his baby son WikiLeaks in dedication to Julian Assange (left). Hajar Hmalaw, an Iraqi journalist who lives in Bavaria, says the registry office refused to let him use the name because they were scared for the baby's welfare. Hamalaw claims that the name meant a lot to him because it is "a synonym with transparent truth." He told NBC news that he is "very disappointed after the rejection. Hundreds of people across the globe were allowed to use the name of Barack Obama's dog for their child, but I can't use WikiLeaks?" In the end, Hamalaw and his wife named their boy Dako, but they hope their family and friends will know him as WikiLeaks.

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Celebs slammed for using "slimming" apps.  

The companies behind body manipulation apps, used by celebrities like Kim Kardashian (right), are under fire from body image experts for promoting unrealistic body standards and encouraging image and eating disorders. The apps, which are often used to make people appear thinner in photos, are becoming increasingly popular. One of the most popular apps, which says it will 'slim (your) body in the easiest way'  has over 100 million users . Sarah McMahon, a psychologist at Body Matters Australasia, says "it leaves everybody else thinking they have no chance at all at looking good... that there's always room for improvement and people can always be thinner."

Glow-in-the-dark trees to replace street lights?

Will we soon be guided home by glowing trees? Dutch designer, artist and architect Daan Roosegaarde  has made plans to combine nature and technology in the most spectacular way. His latest experiment is an exciting idea that will see light fixtures replaced with bioluminescent plants (below). Taking inspiration from the luminescent characteristics of jellyfish and fireflies, Roosegaarde hopes to turn street-lining trees into street lights for people walking by at night. He's currently working alongside scientist Alexander Krichesvsky and the State University of New York and attempting to combine the chloroplast of house-plants with the DNA from luminescent marine bacteria. We say, bring on the spooky trees.

 

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