We have thoroughly wrecked the planet with plastic

[Matted Joybeard]

 

[Matted Joybeard]

Amazing. We are all on our way to becoming literal Body Worlds exhibits.

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’

Twenty-four brain samples collected in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight

www.theguardian.com

The researchers found that 24 of the brain samples, which were collected in early 2024, measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight.

“It’s pretty alarming,” Campen said. “There’s much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined or been comfortable with.”

The study describes the brain as “one of the most plastic-polluted tissues yet sampled”.

 

[initforme]

Amazing. We are all on our way to becoming literal Body Worlds exhibits.

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’

Twenty-four brain samples collected in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight

www.theguardian.com

The researchers found that 24 of the brain samples, which were collected in early 2024, measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight.

“It’s pretty alarming,” Campen said. “There’s much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined or been comfortable with.”

The study describes the brain as “one of the most plastic-polluted tissues yet sampled”.

Well done america.

 

[Crick]

Well done america.

Thanks!

 

[elektra]

Another myth, plastic dont hurt the earth, fact is plastic is part of the earth. I think the earth is happy to get plastic back

 

[Matted Joybeard]

The pre-print brain study led by Campen also hinted at a concerning link. In the study, researchers looked at 12 brain samples from people who had died with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. These brains contained up to 10 times more plastic by weight than healthy samples.


“I don’t know how much more plastic our brain can stuff in without it causing some problems,” Campen said.

The paper also found the quantity of microplastics in brain samples from 2024 was about 50% higher from the total in samples that date to 2016, suggesting the concentration of microplastics found in human brains is rising at a similar rate to that found in the environment. Most of the organs came from the office of the medical investigator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which investigates untimely or violent deaths.


“You can draw a line – it’s increasing over time. It’s consistent with what you’re seeing in the environment,” Campen said.

 

[fncceo]

The pre-print brain study led by Campen also hinted at a concerning link. In the study, researchers looked at 12 brain samples from people who had died with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. These brains contained up to 10 times more plastic by weight than healthy samples.


“I don’t know how much more plastic our brain can stuff in without it causing some problems,” Campen said.

The paper also found the quantity of microplastics in brain samples from 2024 was about 50% higher from the total in samples that date to 2016, suggesting the concentration of microplastics found in human brains is rising at a similar rate to that found in the environment. Most of the organs came from the office of the medical investigator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which investigates untimely or violent deaths.


“You can draw a line – it’s increasing over time. It’s consistent with what you’re seeing in the environment,” Campen said.

Correlations does not imply causation.

 

[initforme]

Correlations does not imply causation.


View attachment 999400

Profits over people.

 

[fncceo]

Profits over people.

You say that like it’s a bad thing.

Nummus Prae Vulgus

 

[justoffal]

While everyone is still caught up in climate change denialism and discussion (if you call it that) centers on that topic, it is just one facet of our environmental polycrisis brought to us by the actions of humankind. While climate change is something we can theoretically move the needle on, the plastic pollution is not. It is an undeniable problem with no likely solution. It's everywhere, contaminating the entire biosphere. It's in our soil, water, our seas, the clouds and precipitation being spread far and wide. Presently is a feature of all our food and increasing in quantity. There's no reversing this as we produce in greater amounts. There's no defense that it's good health, the functions of our bodies, that is is somehow good for us. There are no glib remarks of 'I could really use me some more of that microplastic right now'. And there's no denying we are responsible. There's no argument to be had over 'well, you don't know what plastic accummulation' looked back in the past or that levels of plastic lags normal functioning of biological processes. There's no way out of this one.

It's actually a more serious problem than anything climate change can present at this point.

 

[initforme]

It's actually a more serious problem than anything climate change can present at this point.

Yes. So is pfas. america you have done a great job of toxifying yourself all for nothing.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

More totally normal, non-concerning stuff:

Tiny plastic shards and fibers were found in the nose tissue of human cadavers, according to a small new study.

The threads and microplastic pieces were discovered in the olfactory bulb, the part of the nose responsible for detecting odors that sits at the base of the brain.

"Once present in this structure, there can be translocation to other regions of the brain,” said lead study author Luís Fernando Amato-Lourenço, a postdoctoral microplastics researcher at the Free University of Berlin, in an email.


“Translocation depends on several factors, including the shape of the particle, whether it is a fiber or a fragment, its size, and the body’s defense mechanisms.”

Due to their smaller size and shape, Amato-Lourenço added, particles are more likely than fibers to bypass microglia cells in the blood-brain barrier, a membrane that protects the brain and spinal cord from many harmful substances.

“This is a really interesting study,” said Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the study.

“I’m not really surprised,” Stapleton added. “I really do think that plastics are going to be in every place in the body that we look. This is just more evidence.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/16/health/microplastics-nose-wellness/index.html

 

[Matted Joybeard]

Farms study shows plastic mulch is contaminating agricultural fields

Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affects critical soil functions, according to a study. The United Nations considers soil plastic contamination an environmental health and food...

phys.org

Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affects critical soil functions, according to a study. The United Nations considers soil plastic contamination an environmental health and food security threat.


Around the world, over 25 million acres of farmland is seasonally covered with opaque plastic films used as "mulch" to prevent weeds, retain moisture, and warm soil—a practice known as "plasticulture." Most studies have assessed plastic mulch soil contamination impacts using lab-based models or in experimental plots.

 

[initforme]

Farms study shows plastic mulch is contaminating agricultural fields

Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affects critical soil functions, according to a study. The United Nations considers soil plastic contamination an environmental health and food...

phys.org

Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affects critical soil functions, according to a study. The United Nations considers soil plastic contamination an environmental health and food security threat.


Around the world, over 25 million acres of farmland is seasonally covered with opaque plastic films used as "mulch" to prevent weeds, retain moisture, and warm soil—a practice known as "plasticulture." Most studies have assessed plastic mulch soil contamination impacts using lab-based models or in experimental plots.

It's probably frightening how much plastic we have in our bodies. And we wonder why cancer rates are high.

 

[justoffal]

It's probably frightening how much plastic we have in our bodies. And we wonder why cancer rates are high.

Bigger threat than AGW and were hardly looking at it.

 

[initforme]

Bigger threat than AGW and were hardly looking at it.

That an big industry dumping their chemicals in the air and water. But it costs so much to get rid of things properly. (Sarcasm)

 

[evenflow1969]

That an big industry dumping their chemicals in the air and water. But it costs so much to get rid of things properly. (Sarcasm)

Go back to glass. Everything tasted better and it can be recycled. Hell I funded half the fun things I did as a child collecting returnable bottles.

 

[Matted Joybeard]

Microplastic production facility

 

[Woodznutz]

While everyone is still caught up in climate change denialism and discussion (if you call it that) centers on that topic, it is just one facet of our environmental polycrisis brought to us by the actions of humankind. While climate change is something we can theoretically move the needle on, the plastic pollution is not. It is an undeniable problem with no likely solution. It's everywhere, contaminating the entire biosphere. It's in our soil, water, our seas, the clouds and precipitation being spread far and wide. Presently is a feature of all our food and increasing in quantity. There's no reversing this as we produce in greater amounts. There's no defense that it's good health, the functions of our bodies, that is is somehow good for us. There are no glib remarks of 'I could really use me some more of that microplastic right now'. And there's no denying we are responsible. There's no argument to be had over 'well, you don't know what plastic accummulation' looked back in the past or that levels of plastic lags normal functioning of biological processes. There's no way out of this one.

I judge mankind by the way people shop for food, from the crap that they buy, to thoughtlessly blocking the aisles, to causing gridlock at the checkout by fumbling with coin purses and coupons, to the careless way they put the shopping carts away. People are really messed up.

 

[Woodznutz]

Go back to glass. Everything tasted better and it can be recycled. Hell I funded half the fun things I did as a child collecting returnable bottles.

That wouldn't help today. When I was a kid bottles were returned for 2 cents each but there were still glass bottles lying all over the place.