Human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny pieces of plastic than samples collected eight years ago, according to a preprint published online in May. The preprint is a study that has not yet been peer-reviewed and has not been published in a journal. “The concentrations we saw in brain tissue… Read More »
NEW YORK (AP) — Microplastics have been found in the ocean and air, in our food and water, and in many tissues of the body, including the heart, liver, kidneys and even the testicles. So, do they really hurt you? Evidence suggests it could happen, but it is limited in scope. Some researchers are concerned,… Read More »
Microplastics are so widely dispersed that they are difficult to track. These tiny particles are formed by the breakdown of larger plastics and have been linked to heart attacks, fertility problems and cancer. Recent research suggests they may also lower sperm count. According to a 2019 Canadian study, humans consume up to 52,000 particles of… Read More »
Researchers have found another anatomical organ where microplastics of all shapes and components are found: human testicles. Although they can’t say for sure, they suspect that the presence of these jagged pieces and strands of polymers such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene may be partly behind the global trend in declining sperm quality and… Read More »
Scientists may have found the answer to producing plastic products that can actually decompose without turning into microplastics, or small pieces of plastic that can last for thousands of years. Researchers from the University of California at San Diego and materials company Algenesis said they have found a way to produce plastic with polyurethane, a… Read More »
X user @casbrad Allegation: Plastic cutting boards have been shown to shed microplastics in foods. Evaluation: Rating: True Microplastics — plastic parts Usually less than 5 mm or the length of a pencil eraser and barely visible to the naked eye; was discovered in very different places human heart tissue And Clouds over Mount Fuji.… Read More »
People with microplastics and nanoplastics in the plaque lining a large blood vessel in their neck may be at higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death, new research suggests. The findings, published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, are the first time scientists have linked these tiny plastic particles, created as a… Read More »
Compost piles are being prepared for screening at the Tulare Lake Compost facility. Natural fertilizers produced from sewage sludge are a growing source of windborne microplastics, researchers say. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) A team of UCLA researchers has come up with a new take on the 1970s rock classic “Dust in the Wind”;… Read More »
If you consume protein, you could be swallowing hundreds of small pieces of plastic every year, research finds. A new study by researchers from the non-profit Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto found that microplastics — tiny particles ranging from a micrometer (thousandth of a millimeter) to half a centimeter in size — were… Read More »
Anna Ryan, a 24-year-old graduate student at Dalhousie University, examines microplastic samples she collected during Hurricane Larry in September 2021. (Eric Woolliscroft/CBC – image credit) When Hurricane Larry hit Newfoundland in 2021, university students in Halifax headed to a rural area along its route to find out whether the ocean could blast microplastics into the… Read More »