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Should we be worried about the microplastics in our bodies?
Summary
This accessible overview article asked whether people should be concerned about microplastics found in human bodies, summarizing current evidence on bodily accumulation, potential health effects, and the limits of current knowledge. It concluded that while the science is developing, precautionary concern is warranted.
Microplastics and nanoplastics are almost everywhere—even in human bodies. Over the past 5 years or so, scientists have found them in the blood and brain, heart and kidneys, liver and lungs, human milk and placenta, and testicles and semen. If and how these plastic particles—defined as smaller than 5 mm in size—harm our health remains unclear, but clues are emerging. In the laboratory, scientists are feeding mice microplastics to understand whether these particles pose risks to the animals’ health. Researchers are also tracking health outcomes in relation to the microplastics they find in human bodies. “It’s just such a new field,” says Matthew Campen, a toxicologist at the University of New Mexico who studies micro- and nanoplastics in human tissues. But even as the research continues to evolve from its early stages, the widespread presence of these plastic fragments in humans and the environment is already something “we absolutely need