Hacker News with Generative AI: Microplastics

Plastic-like materials that dissolve in the sea (riken.jp)
Microplastics—small fragments of plastics less than 5mm across—now infiltrate every corner of our planet, from remote regions of the deep ocean and the Arctic, to the very air we breathe.

Environmental Science, Microplastics, Pollution, Materials Science

5 points by geox 4 days ago | 0 comments

Chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva, research finds (cnn.com)

Health, Science, Environment, Microplastics

9 points by zfg 7 days ago | 0 comments

Chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva, pilot study finds (acs.org)
SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2025 — Plastic is everywhere. And many products we use in everyday life, such as cutting boards, clothes and cleaning sponges, can expose people to tiny, micrometer-wide plastic particles called microplastics. Now, chewing gum could be added to the list. In a pilot study, researchers found that chewing gum can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics per piece into saliva and potentially be ingested.

Microplastics, Health, Science, Food, Environment

37 points by giuliomagnifico 7 days ago | 14 comments

Scientists issue warning: Microplastic accumulation in human brains escalating (psypost.org)
A new study published in Nature Medicine has revealed the presence of microplastics – tiny fragments of degraded plastic – in human brain tissue.

Science, Health, Environment, Microplastics

8 points by amichail 20 days ago | 2 comments

Microplastics Are Messing with Photosynthesis in Plants (scientificamerican.com)
Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality.

Environmental Science, Pollution, Plants, Microplastics

5 points by Brajeshwar 21 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds (theguardian.com)
The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment.

Microplastics, Pollution, Environment, Science, Plants

9 points by pseudolus 22 days ago | 0 comments

'Spoonful of plastics in your brain' paper has duplicated images (thetransmitter.org)
A highly publicized new paper that reported high levels of microplastics in human brain tissue contains duplicated images, according to the study’s principal investigator.

Science, Research, Misconduct, Microplastics, Brain Health

19 points by bookofjoe 33 days ago | 0 comments

Antioxidants in fruits, flowers may counteract harmful effects of microplastics (theguardian.com)
Antioxidants that give fruits and flowers their vibrant colors seem to counteract some of the most dangerous reproductive system effects of exposure to microplastics, such as decreased fertility, and could ultimately be used in developing treatments, new peer-reviewed research shows.

Science, Environment, Health, Microplastics

5 points by mikhael 35 days ago | 0 comments

Brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you? (nature.com)
Plastics have infiltrated every recess of the planet, including your lungs, kidneys and other sensitive organs. Scientists are scrambling to understand their effects on health.

Microplastics, Health, Environment, Science

13 points by sohkamyung 49 days ago | 0 comments

Melamine sponges shed microplastics when scrubbed (acs.org)
Melamine cleaning sponges might easily erase stains and scuffs, but they also release microplastics into the environment as they wear away.

Microplastics, Environmental Science, Cleaning Products

9 points by buccal 52 days ago | 1 comments

Accumulation of Microplastics in Human Brain Tissue Rising Rapidly: Study (ecowatch.com)
In a new study, health sciences researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) have found microplastics in human brain tissue in concentrations much higher than in other organs.

Environmental Science, Human Health, Pollution, Microplastics, Research

8 points by mikhael 54 days ago | 0 comments

Accumulation of Microplastics in Human Brain Tissue Rising Rapidly (ecowatch.com)
In a new study, health sciences researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) have found microplastics in human brain tissue in concentrations much higher than in other organs.

Environmental Science, Health, Microplastics, Brain Health

8 points by hochmartinez 55 days ago | 2 comments

Microplastics found in the brains of mice within hours of consumption (phys.org)
A team of environmental biologists at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, working with one colleague from Duke University, and another from National University of Singapore, has found that it takes microplastics consumed by mice just a few hours to make their way to their brains.

Science, Environmental Science, Microplastics, Health

4 points by pseudolus 63 days ago | 0 comments

List of Products with Microplastics (plasticlist.org)

Microplastics, Environmental Issues, Consumer Products

6 points by IG_Semmelweiss 89 days ago | 3 comments

Microplastics found in multiple human organ tissues correlated with lesions (phys.org)
Research led by Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University in China has performed a metadata investigation into the presence of microplastics in humans. They report a concerning relationship between micro and nanoplastic (MNP) concentrations in damaged tissues and links with multiple health conditions.

Microplastics, Human Health, Science, Environment, Research

51 points by mikhael 92 days ago | 15 comments

Commercial tea bags release microplastics, entering human cells (medicalxpress.com)
UAB research has characterized in detail how polymer-based commercial tea bags release millions of nanoplastics and microplastics when infused. The study shows for the first time the capacity of these particles to be absorbed by human intestinal cells, and are thus able to reach the bloodstream and spread throughout the body.

Microplastics, Health, Science, Research, Food

421 points by wglb 99 days ago | 317 comments

Tea bags release microplastics, entering human intestinal cells (medicalxpress.com)
UAB research has characterized in detail how polymer-based commercial tea bags release millions of nanoplastics and microplastics when infused. The study shows for the first time the capacity of these particles to be absorbed by human intestinal cells, and are thus able to reach the bloodstream and spread throughout the body.

Microplastics, Health, Science, Research, Food

14 points by bikenaga 102 days ago | 5 comments

Car tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment (phys.org)
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food. Researchers in South China recently found tire-derived chemicals in most human urine samples.

Microplastics, Environment, Pollution, Tires, Science

295 points by geox 124 days ago | 321 comments

Could Microplastics Be a Driver for Early Onset Colorectal Cancer? (mdpi.com)
The incidence of colorectal cancer in those under 50 years of age (early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC)) is increasing throughout the world.

Colorectal Cancer, Health, Medical Research, Microplastics

7 points by ClumsyPilot 178 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics Seem to Be in Every Kind of Animal Except One (sciencealert.com)
Rocks crumble into the sea as sand. Similarly, the ocean is an inevitable destination of disintegrating human rubbish: microplastics.

Environmental Science, Marine Biology, Pollution, Microplastics

5 points by speckx 190 days ago | 1 comments

Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain (jamanetwork.com)
This case series provides evidence of MPs found in the human olfactory bulb, suggesting a potential pathway for the translocation of MPs to the brain.

Science, Health, Microplastics, Brain

170 points by hindsightbias 195 days ago | 176 comments

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show (theguardian.com)

Microplastics, Science, Health, Environment

26 points by pizza 223 days ago | 1 comments

Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains (nlm.nih.gov)

Microplastics, Pollution, Human Health, Science

131 points by apsec112 223 days ago | 153 comments

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show (theguardian.com)

Science, Environment, Health, Microplastics

13 points by Luc 223 days ago | 0 comments

Boiling and filtering can remove microplastics from drinking water: study (sciencealert.com)