A team of researchers has found microplastics in all 40 semen samples they examined from healthy men, highlighting the urgent need to study how these tiny particles could affect human reproduction. In a paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, researchers from a number of Chinese institutions identified eight different polymers in the samples, […]
A newly developed plant-based plastic releases nine times fewer microplastics than conventional plastic when exposed to sunlight and seawater, according to Phys.org. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth and Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Belgium tested how two types of plastic break down under extreme conditions. They took to the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety […]
Victoria Ou and Justin Huang, both 17, won $50,000 for their microplastic filtration device. It’s the first filtration system to successfully use ultrasound to filter microplastics from water. They hope to scale their device for water treatment plants to reduce microplastic pollution worldwide. Two teenagers from Woodlands, Texas invented a device that could help address […]
There has been a lot of talk in the past few years about global declines in sperm counts. Recent research found that sperm counts dropped by 1.2% per year on average from 1973 to 2018, with scientists noting that the problem seems to be getting worse. Now, new research suggests there may be a possible […]
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Microplastics have been found in historic soil samples for the first time, according to a new study, potentially upending the way archaeological remains are preserved. Researchers found microplastics in soil deposits more than seven meters […]
A new study has linked the presence of microplastics in artery-clogging plaque to a higher risk of heart disease and even death. From remote regions of Antarctica and layers of sediment untouched by humans to human hearts and even newborn human babies, microplastics are everywhere. But while it stands to reason that microscopic shards of […]
People with microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque lining a major blood vessel in their neck may have a 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, the result of degraded […]
A new study finds that boiling and then filtering tap water can remove up to 90 percent of microplastics. Minute particles of plastic, no larger than a grain of sand, have been found in every corner of the globe, from the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Mediterranean, to the clouds floating over Mount […]
The cleanliness of cutting boards is a long-debated food safety issue, given that both wood and plastic — the most common cutting board materials — can easily harbor bacteria. New research shows that using plastic cutting boards can release microplastics. So how concerned should you be? A 2023 study published in the journal Environmental Science […]
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that can cause big problems when they enter the water supply. One way my fluid dynamics lab explores microplastic movement is by studying how tiny water-walking insects are pushed underwater by raindrops. Exposure to microplastic pollution can pose health risks, such as respiratory and digestive problems, increased risk of diabetes […]
If you’re eating protein, you could be ingesting hundreds of tiny pieces of plastic each year, research finds. A new study by researchers with the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto found microplastics – tiny particles ranging from one micrometer (one thousandth of a millimeter) to half a centimeter in size – in […]
Panama City — A team of international scientists working on a research vessel off the coast of Panama is looking for something you might think would be hard to find. “We are exploring the unexplored,” Alvise Vianello, an associate chemistry professor at Aalborg University in Denmark, told CBS News. “…It’s like, you know, finding the […]