microplastics

Scientists fear tiny bits called microplastics could harm small creatures at the base of the food chain, such as by blocking their digestive tracts.

Scientific American 2010

Scientists fear tiny bits called microplastics could harm small creatures at the base of the food chain, such as by blocking their digestive tracts.

Scientific American 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories PhysOrg Team 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

Science Blog BJS 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

Tiny fragments of 5 mm or less are called "microplastics" and are particularly dangerous as they can absorb toxic chemicals which are transported to marine animals when ingested.

Science Blog BJS 2010

Slices of wood can act as water filters that remove bacteria and microplastics with more than 99 per cent efficiency, potentially offering a cheap way to protect people from water-borne illnesses.

Slices of wood can filter bacteria and microplastics from water Matthew Sparkes 2025

They found that microplastics have been recorded virtually everywhere people have looked for them.

Microplastics could be hampering the ocean’s ability to capture carbon James Dinneen 2025

After mopping up microplastics, microglia also set off inflammation in surrounding neurons, damaging them.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

Other lab dish experiments, meanwhile, confirm a key finding from animal studies: that human microglia eat up microplastics, resulting in increased inflammation.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

Animal studies also indicate that microplastics in the brain can reduce levels of neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine, which is important for memory and learning, and oxytocin, often called “the love hormone”.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

Work published in 2024 found that people in China aged 60 and older who reported higher potential exposure to microplastics – from things like using plastic tableware and regularly drinking water from plastic bottles – had a raised risk of mild cognitive impairment.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

It also turns out that microplastics don’t even have to enter the brain to jumble up animals’ minds.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

But when the researchers tried the same thing with mice fed polystyrene microplastics, they seemed fearless.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

Baracchi and his colleagues fed honeybees fluorescent microplastics and later saw the tiny particles embedded in their brains.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025

We do however, have animal studies to illuminate how microplastics affect the brain and behaviour of other species.

What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out Marta Zaraska 2025