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Business Roundup
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This paper is not about microplastics research — it is a short business news roundup mentioning, among other items, that BASF opened a biodegradation and microplastics laboratory.
MyForest has raised $15 million in series A funding to help boost sales of its fungal bacon, which is currently available only in New York City. The firm has also hired food industry executive Greg Shewchuk as CEO. Kraton has appointed Marcello Boldrini as CEO. Boldrini has been the company’s co-CEO with Holger Jung as well as CEO of Kraton Pine Chemicals since March 2022, when DL Chemical of South Korea closed its acquisition of Kraton. BASF has opened a biodegradation and microplastics laboratory in Wyandotte, Michigan. The firm says the site will help customers analyze the environmental fate of established and emerging materials. Röhm expects to close its methacrylates plant in Westwego, Louisiana, in June 2025, after the firm opens a new plant for the business in Bay City, Texas. The closure will affect 70 employees. Open Targets , a UK-based public-private partnership that uses human genetics and genomics
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Bioplastics: a sustainable alternative or a hidden microplastic threat?
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This review examines how bioplastics, while promising as fossil-fuel alternatives, can still fragment into microplastics when they end up in natural environments that lack the conditions needed for proper biodegradation. The study warns that without improved waste sorting infrastructure and public education, replacing conventional plastics with bioplastics may create a different but equally persistent microplastic pollution problem.
Questions are being raised about microplastics studies – here’s what’s solid science and what isn’t
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Researchers and science journalists examined the reliability of high-profile studies reporting microplastics in human organs, raising questions about whether some alarming findings reflect true biological accumulation or contamination introduced during sample collection and laboratory processing.
Common laboratory reagents: Are they a double-edged sword in microplastics research?
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This study tested whether common laboratory reagents themselves are contaminated with microplastics and found measurable plastic particles in several widely used chemicals, raising the concern that lab reagents could be an overlooked source of contamination in microplastic research.
Biotechnology for the Management of Plastics and Microplastics
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This review paper explains how plastic waste, including tiny fragments called microplastics, ends up polluting our rivers and oceans, often through everyday sources like washing machine runoff from synthetic clothing and tire wear from cars. It highlights that our current recycling system isn't equipped to handle all this waste, meaning much of it escapes into the environment where it can eventually make its way into water, food, and potentially our bodies. Understanding these pollution pathways is a key first step toward developing better solutions to reduce our exposure to microplastics.
Getting a grip on microplastics’ risks
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Researchers and policy experts assessed the current state of microplastic risk evaluation, examining how scientific uncertainty and regulatory gaps complicate efforts to establish safe exposure thresholds and meaningful environmental standards for these pervasive contaminants.
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.