it means what thomas edison started in 1879 is coming to an end. taibbi. >> reporter: for employees like 35-year veteran roy kirby -- >> you know that the end is going to come. but when it does come, it's a bitter pill to swallow. >> reporter: the end came faster for two reasons -- the 2007 law phasing out all u.s. production of incandescent bulbs except for specialty bulbs. and the fact that consumers were changing their buying habits on their own, shifting to more energy efficient halogens. so out with the old and in with the new. >> if we're not responding to what our customers want, you know, there's no business here. >> reporter: and gone are the $30 an hour jobs employees like the madigan brothers are finding impossible to replace. >> i'm taking a job paying half of what i was making. if i've got to have a job at least $22 an hour to pay our bills, you know, and keep our home. >> reporter: this was a career for tens of thousands from the dawn of the 20th century, making the lightbulbs that changes the way we lived, lighting america's homes an

after 231 years, one of thomas edison's most famous inventions is coming toan end. g.e.hut down, yes, turned out the lights at the last incandescent light bulb factory in the united stes. the shutdown of the virginia plant is part of theederal government's plan to switch to more energy-efficient bulbs by 2014. it's not just the end of that bulb. just means 200 people are now out of a job. the plant saw production fall from a billion light plbulbs a year to just over 300,000. >> you know that the end is going to come. but when it does come it's a bitter pill to swallow sdm i'm taking a job paying half what i was making. >> i have to make a job $20 to $22 to pay our pills and keep our home. >> one employee said h couldn't think of any other piece of technology that lasted more than a century and remained viable. end of an era. >>> 4:54. 72 degrees. coming up, startling numbers released about hiv and aids in america. >> why the federal government wants you to hand over what you have in your medicine cabinets. >> observant drivers costing one town money from road side speed

seems the invention that thomas edison perfected 130 years ago is flickering and fading. >> this is edison'simental room at the laboratory. one of the things he was working on a lot in the late 1880s and early 1890s were ways of improving the electric lamp. >> reporter: paul israel says the great inventor would be torn about the change. >> on the one hand, he would have been disappointed. on the other hand, one of the things he was very interested in was the more efficient ways to generate electricity. so he would have seen that as the future. >> reporter: the incandescent bulb might be edison's most important innovation. notorious for getting by on a few hours' sleep, he wanted to transform the world into a 24-hour culture by lighting up the night. but the old incandescent bulb is inefficient. compact fluorescents use nearly 75% less energy and last ten times longer. but even those could soon be obsolete. the future, l.e.d. these bulbs barely use any energy, they can last 20 years, they don't even need a standard fixture. imagine your entire wall as a light source. lighting from your coffee

it seemed that the invepgs thomas edison perfected 130 years ago is flickering and fading. >> this iss private experimental room at the laboratory. he was working on ways improving the electrical lamp. >> reporter: he said that the great inventor would be torn about the change. >> on the one hand, he would have been disappointed. on the other hand, edison was always somebody who was looking forward. one thing that he was very interested in, was there more efficient ways to generate electricity? he would have seen that as the future. >> reporter: the incandescent bulb, notorious for getting by on a few hours of sleep, he wanted to transformed the world into a 24-hour culture by lighting up the night. >> the light bulb going off over your head, that's representing edison and his accomplishment. >> reporter: but it's inefficient. they use 75% less energy. and last ten times longer. even those could be soon obsolete. the future, l.e.d. they can last 20 years. and they don't need a standard fixture. imagine your entire wall as a light source. lighting from your coffee table or your floor,

these are incandescent light bulbs, the kind invented by thomas edison and they've been made this thisactory for 35 years. edwar jackson used to make them. >> send -- edward jackson used to make them. >> send them down the line on the machine, the machine turns them around and puts the fill amounts into the -- filaments into the bulb and the light and welded the base into the bulb. >> reporter: he said it was a decent job with very good pay and benefits but the market for incandescent light bulbs is declining quickly partly because of the consumer preference for more efficient lighting and partly because of international agreements that will phase out most old- fashioned bulbs in coming years. citing overcapacity, rising costs and inefficiencies, ge decided to close its winchester light bulb factory forever. thursday was the last day of production. the former employees at this plant got a pretty good going away package including severance pay for long time workers, early retirement and pension options, medical, dental and life insurance for a year and preferential placement at other ge

seems the invention that thomas edison perfected 130 years ago is flickering and fading. >> this is edison'simental room at the laboratory. one of the things he was working on a lot in the late 1880s and early 1890s were ways of improving the electric lamp. >> reporter: edison historian paul israel says the great inventor would be torn about the change. >> on the one hand, he would have been disappointed. on the other hand, edison was always somebody kind of looking forward. one of the things he was always very interested in was more efficient ways to generate electricity. so he would have seen that as the future. >> reporter: the incandescent bulb might be edison's most important innovation. notorious for getting by on a few hours' sleep, he wanted to transform the world into a 24-hour culture by lighting up the night. but the old incandescent bulb is inefficient. compact fluorescents use nearly 75% less energy and last ten times longer. even those could soon be obsolete. the future, l.e.d. these bulbs barely use any energy, they can last 20 years, they don't even need a standard fixture. i

was it alexandria graham bell, thomas edison, samuel moreis, or henry ford? answer is coming up later. much more ahead this morning. keep it right here. >>> a health alert this morning. health officials are concerned about a newly discovered superbug genech they believe it can turn bacteria into superbug that's resist nearly all antibiotics. the cdc reports three patients in massachusetts, california and illinois were infected with different types of bacteria that contain this gene. now all had recently been to india where the problem is thought to be widespread. >>> a new government-funded study said there is no link between autism and childhood vaccines with the mercury based preservative. researchers from the cdc tracked more than a thousand children born between 1994 and 1999 after reviewing immunization records of the children and mothers, they found no link between vaccinations and the development of autism. >>> the recipient of the first nearly total face plant is urging for donors. life bank coordinates donations throughout cleveland. 56% of people in

. >>> one of thomas edison's most famous inventions is turning off the light. ge shu down the last incandescent light bulb in the country as the government has ordered everyone use more ergy-efficient bulbs by 2014. it also means 200 workers are out of a job. mike taibi has the story. >> reporter: the handwriting was on the wall. for employees like roy kirby. >> you know the end is going to come, but when it does come, it's a bitter pill to swallow. >> reporter: the end came faster for two reasons. the 2007 law phasing out all u.s. intruction of incandescent bulb except for some specialty bulbs, and the fact that consumers were changing buying hits on their own, shifting to more official halogens. so out with the old and in with the new. >> if we're not respondi to what our customers want, you know, there's no business here. >> gone are the $30 an hour jobs finding impossible to replace. >> i'm taking a job that's paying half of what i was making. >> i've got to have a job at least 20 to 22 an hour to pay our bills an to keep our home. >> this was a career for

i think we should be encouraged and remember it took thomas edison, 1350 different substa e substanceson was the right component for the inkicandescen bulb. >> reporter: the key is finding the right center. computers and special gauges are precisely measuring how much energy she's burning with each change. when the voltage gets too high too fast. >> what do you feel? >> it's tingling. it's tingling. >> okay, take it down to 4.5. >> reporter: almost as if carol is in a literal test tube. >> i feel like it's teacher. and it's a learning experience. for them and for me. >> once we get an idea of what each individual electrode is doing, and at each setting and how that effects metabolism, that allows us to go back home and be more efficient to adjust her settings to get weight loss. so, what did you think? >> it was kind of what i expected. but it was just boring. >> reporter: later in the week the medical team is cautiously optimistic. her metabolism seems to be responding to the voltage. >> it's very encouraging. >> reporter: by the end of her stay in the chamber the team discovers one s

. >> thomas edison did terrible in school. got beaten in school. and obviously we would say he had an amazing mind. >> larry: how do we separate them? >> mind body duelism goes back. how do we deal with something like obesity where we've been evolutionary. millions of years went into our brain development. we took advantage of what the environment had. things that were high in calorie and things in fat and sugar and things we craved that we were well rewarded in our brain system. the brain is many different systems. rationale system. award system. emotional system. executive system. the fact is with eating the reward system and u foric system and for some people that can trigger an addictive process. >> does the stomach tell me i'm hungry or the brain? >> we think of the symptomic as your second brain because your intestinal track produces chemicals that work on your brain than the brain itself. your body is really one system. i think of your brain as the super computer that is running everything but it's all interconnected. >> larry: will the brai

martha: unbelievable story and, thomas edison revolutionized the world with that invention, but, now, of the dinosaur. the law that could make it impossible for you to buy the kind of light bulbs that you like, and, there are all kinds of ramifications for the bulb issue and we'll dig into them here on "america's newsroom." we'll be right back. guar platinum coverage is not just a warranty. it's aelief in everything we do. it's a 5 year, 50,000 mile promise. with complimentary scheduled maintenance no-cost replacement of wear and tear items and 24/7 roadside assistance. because when you create the most beautiful, fast cars on earth, you create an ownership experience to match. style that lasts a lifetime. what do you say we get the look we want, the softness we need, and an unbeatable lifetime stain warranty for whatever life throws at it. then let's save big on the installation. ♪ we're lowering the cost of going barefoot. more saving. more dog. that's the power of the home depot. get exclusive martha stewart living and platinum plus installed in your whole house for only 37 bucks. i

in 1870s, thomas edison created a phenomenal little deal called a light bulb and afterwards we ended up having the creation of a major corporation called general electric. and we had this unique little creation born here in this country. at the end of this month, ge will discontinue making incan dessnt lights and the plant will be closed. this light will not be made anywhere in the united states. the cfls actually use about 75% less electricity. but the negative part of it is that because it's circular there's a lot of hand labor involved. and now the united states will import almost all the cfls from china, which gives me great pains. the stimulus also provided some opportunities for the department of energy to help companies get involved in the green technology. i mention all that because in your september 16 testimony in the senate, you said and i quote, we are commited to promoting policies in both the united states and china to create new opportunities for americans and grow jobs in the united states, and we are not leaving these outcomes to chance. and so i am wondering what, t