Scientists uncover alarming contamination in water sources — here's why experts are worried

Scientists uncover alarming contamination in water sources — here's why experts are worried

Scientists in Latin America are sounding the alarm over the presence of microplastics in freshwater sources — and the understudied human health impacts of the plastic pollution. What's happening? A new report by SciDev.net highlights two recent studies linking microplastic pollution to freshwater sources in Latin America.  A Cuban study found microplastics, or plastic particles less than five millimeters long, in two freshwater rivers — the Alme…

Assessing microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in bird lungs: evidence of ecological risks and bioindicator potential

Microplastics (MPs, 1 µm–5 mm) and nanoplastics (NPs,

Microplastics are Blotting Out Photosynthesis

Editor’s note: A new report that microplastics pollution is hampering photosynthesis in plants, and that the result is the loss of some 10% of the world’s primary productivity, including food crops. We are now risking to blot out the planetary photosynthesis machine, just because we think that stopping the growth of the plastics industry is a subversive idea. But the report gets something in reverse: it is not that these effects “extend from foo…

Micro-plastics in IV drugs hidden risks

A recent study published in the Journal of Environment and Health has raised concerns about hospital patients being exposed to thousands of micro-plastic particles through intravenous (IV) medications. This research comes at a time when worries about the health impacts of micro-plastics are growing. Scientists have already detected these tiny plastic fragments in human brains hearts and even breast milk. Research has linked micro-plastics to chr…