Papers

Novel insight into the aging process of microplastics: An in-situ study in coastal wetlands

Scientists tracked how microplastics age and break down in a coastal wetland in China over three months and found that both sunlight and microbial communities work together to degrade the plastic surfaces. Different plastic types broke down at very different rates, with estimated lifespans ranging from 335 to 661 days before significant degradation. This research helps predict how long microplastics persist in coastal environments that are important for fisheries and human food sources.

Potential risk of co-occurrence of microplastics and chlorinated persistent organic pollutants to coastal wetlands: Evidence from a case study

Researchers investigated the co-occurrence of microplastics and chlorinated persistent organic pollutants in coastal wetlands of Zhejiang, China, finding microplastics in 100 percent of samples. Although wetland microplastic levels were lower than other land types, the plastics showed strong capacity to adsorb and concentrate toxic organic chemicals. The study highlights the combined contamination risk that microplastics and persistent pollutants pose to sensitive coastal ecosystems.

Comprehensive Understanding on the Aging Process and Mechanism of Microplastics in the Sediment–Water Interface: Untangling the Role of Photoaging and Biodegradation

Researchers examined how microplastics break down at the boundary between water and sediment in coastal wetlands, comparing the roles of sunlight-driven aging and biological degradation. They found that photoaging was the dominant process, accounting for over 55% of surface changes, and that biodegradable plastics aged faster than conventional ones. The study provides important insights into how microplastics transform in real-world coastal environments.

Challenges of using leaves as a biomonitoring system to assess airborne microplastic deposition on urban tree canopies

An enlarging ecological risk: Review on co-occurrence and migration of microplastics and microplastic-carrying organic pollutants in natural and constructed wetlands

This review examines the co-occurrence and migration patterns of microplastics and organic pollutants in both natural and constructed wetlands. Researchers found that microplastics act as carriers for organic pollutants, and that biofilms forming on plastic surfaces influence how these contaminants interact and move through wetland systems. The study highlights the growing ecological risk posed by the combined presence of microplastics and adsorbed organic chemicals in wetland environments.

The impact of microplastics on neurodegenerative diseases and underlying molecular mechanisms: A narrative review

This review explores how microplastics that accumulate in the environment can reach the brain through inhalation or by crossing the blood-brain barrier. Researchers examined evidence suggesting that microplastics may contribute to the onset or acceleration of neurodegenerative conditions by triggering harmful responses in brain cells. The study calls for stronger environmental policies, better detection methods, and further research into potential therapeutic interventions.

Worldwide cases of water pollution by emerging contaminants: a review

Biological Aging Acceleration Due to Environmental Exposures: An Exciting New Direction in Toxicogenomics Research

This review explores how environmental exposures, including pollutants and lifestyle factors, can accelerate biological aging at the molecular level. Researchers examine biological clock technologies that measure changes in DNA and other cellular markers to assess aging acceleration. The study highlights emerging evidence that toxic exposures may speed up aging processes, offering a new way to evaluate the long-term health impacts of environmental contaminants.

Nanoplastics impact the zebrafish (Danio rerio) transcriptome: Associated developmental and neurobehavioral consequences

Researchers exposed developing zebrafish larvae to polystyrene nanoplastics of two sizes and found dose-dependent accumulation in tissues along with swimming hyperactivity, despite no effects on mortality or hatching. Transcriptomic analysis revealed changes in gene expression associated with neurodegeneration and motor dysfunction at both high and low concentrations. The study suggests that nanoplastic exposure during early development can alter brain function and behavior in ways that may reduce organismal fitness.

A review on enriched microplastics in environment: From the perspective of their aging impact and associate risk

This review explores what happens to microplastics as they age in the environment over long periods. Researchers found that natural weathering changes the physical and chemical properties of microplastics in ways that may increase their ability to harbor harmful microorganisms and interact with other pollutants, suggesting that aging may actually make microplastic pollution more hazardous over time rather than less.

Removal efficiency of micro- and nanoplastics (180 nm–125 μm) during drinking water treatment

Researchers tested how effectively standard drinking water treatment processes remove micro- and nanoplastics ranging from 180 nanometers to 125 micrometers. They found that coagulation and sedimentation alone removed less than 2% of plastic particles, while granular filtration was far more effective, achieving 87% to nearly 100% removal depending on particle size. The study also found that biofilm formation on microplastics significantly improved their removal during coagulation treatment.

Artificial intelligence, evolution, and environmental disease: Rethinking the risk

This editorial explores the potential risks of applying artificial intelligence to environmental disease research, arguing that without careful oversight, AI could introduce biases or overlook ecological complexity. The authors use Genome Architecture Theory as a framework for understanding how organisms interact with environmental factors, including pollutants like microplastics. The study urges the environmental health community to engage proactively in shaping how AI tools are developed and applied to ensure scientific integrity and equity.

Co-occurrence of light microplastics and phthalate esters in soils of China

Researchers investigated the co-occurrence of light microplastics and phthalate esters in Chinese soils, finding both pollutants present in all sampled agricultural and urban soils with significant correlations suggesting shared sources of plastic-derived contamination.

The Microplastics Cycle: An In-Depth Look at a Complex Topic

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the microplastics cycle, tracing how plastic particles originate, travel through aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems, and ultimately affect ecosystems and human health. The study emphasizes that understanding the full scope of the microplastics cycle across all environmental reservoirs is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies, including reducing plastic production and improving recycling efforts.

Complex Mixtures and Multiple Stressors: Evaluating Combined Chemical Exposures and Cumulative Toxicity

This review examined how complex chemical mixtures and multiple stressors interact to produce cumulative toxicity, highlighting that traditional single-chemical risk assessments underestimate real-world exposure risks where organisms face simultaneous pollutant combinations.

‘Fetal side’ of the placenta: anatomical mis-annotation of carbon particle ‘transfer’ across the human placenta

This correspondence challenged previous claims of carbon particle transfer across the human placenta, arguing that the original study misidentified the fetal and maternal sides of placental tissue, raising important questions about nanoparticle translocation evidence.

Microplastic ingestion by quagga mussels, Dreissena bugensis, and its effects on physiological processes

Quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) ingested microplastic particles across a range of sizes and concentrations, with exposure reducing filtration rates, oxygen consumption, and reproductive output without increasing short-term mortality, indicating chronic sublethal effects on this invasive filter feeder.

The Human Archaeome: Commensals, Opportunists, or Emerging Pathogens?

This review examines the human archaeome—archaeal microorganisms inhabiting the gut, skin, and other body sites—and their potential roles in health and disease. It finds no conclusive archaeal pathogens in humans but identifies indirect roles through metabolic interactions with bacteria, relevant to gut microbiome research.

Occurrence, fate and partitioning of microplastics through drinking water treatment processes

Adverse adult-onset and multigenerational effects in zebrafish (Danio rerio) developmentally exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers raised zebrafish exposed to nanoplastics during early development through to adulthood and found lasting reproductive impairment, heritable hyperactivity in offspring, and molecular changes in male reproductive and brain tissue linked to neurodegenerative disease pathways and endocrine disruption, demonstrating that brief developmental nanoplastic exposure can cause multigenerational harm.

Complex interactions among temperature, microplastics and cyanobacteria may facilitate cyanobacteria proliferation and microplastic deposition

Researchers investigated how microplastics interact with temperature and nutrient conditions to affect cyanobacterial growth, finding that microplastics can alter cyanobacterial physiology and potentially exacerbate bloom formation under warming conditions.

Extracellular polymeric substances in green alga facilitate microplastic deposition

Extracellular polymeric substances secreted by the green alga Spirogyra facilitated microplastic aggregation and deposition in lab experiments, with EPS forming physical bridges between plastic particles and sediment, suggesting that algal biofilm formation can accelerate the settling and burial of buoyant microplastics in aquatic environments.

The interplay of environmental factors and neuroscience: Investigating tissue damage in environmental diseases

This editorial explores how environmental neurotoxins including air pollutants, heavy metals, and industrial chemicals cause tissue-specific damage in the central nervous system, contributing to neurodegenerative disease risk. The authors review recent findings connecting environmental exposures to neurological pathology.

A Review of Microplastics in Aquatic Sediments: Occurrence, Fate, Transport, and Ecological Impact