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Funding cuts could put research into emerging threats to lung health at risk
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Researchers and journalists warned that emerging respiratory threats — including wildfire smoke, fungal spore diseases, and inhaled microplastics — are all increasing at the same time the US government is cutting funding for respiratory health research and environmental policy.
Wildfire smoke, spore-spread fungal diseases and microplastic are all on the rise, even as the US government slashes support for respiratory research and policy. Wildfire smoke, spore-spread fungal diseases and microplastic are all on the rise, even as the US government slashes support for respiratory research and policy.
More Papers Like This
Causal relationship between micro- and nanoplastics and lung function
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Researchers quantified micro- and nanoplastic levels in whole blood from young adults using pyrolysis GC-MS and measured lung function by spirometry, analyzing the causal relationship between circulating plastic particle burden and forced expiratory volume and vital capacity outcomes.
Microplastics and Respiratory Health
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This review paper looks at what scientists currently know about tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in the air we breathe and how they might affect our lungs. The research suggests these particles, which come from things like synthetic clothing, packaging, and car tires, can be inhaled deep into our lungs and may contribute to inflammation and other breathing problems, though more research is still needed to fully understand the risks. This matters because microplastics are now essentially everywhere in our environment, so understanding their health effects could help guide future safety guidelines and personal choices.
Microplastics are everywhere — we need to understand how they affect human health
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Researchers highlight that microplastics are now accumulating in human organs and tissues, and urgently call for deeper scientific investigation into what this means for human health — as the particles are virtually everywhere but their biological effects remain poorly understood.
Respiratory risks of microplastics and nanoplastics: Where? What? How?
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Researchers systematically reviewed experimental and epidemiological evidence linking inhaled microplastics and nanoplastics to pulmonary disorders including COPD, asthma, and fibrosis, identifying oxidative stress as the dominant initiating mechanism that cascades into mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, barrier disruption, and multiple forms of cell death.
Inhalable Microplastics: A New Cause for Concern?
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Researchers reviewed emerging evidence that microscopic plastic particles suspended in indoor and outdoor air can be inhaled by humans, identifying inhalable microplastics as a poorly understood but potentially serious public health threat warranting urgent further study.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.