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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to The mysterious danger of microplastics
ClearThe microplastics time-bomb in our bodies
This piece reports that scientists are increasingly concerned about microplastics — particles smaller than 5mm found throughout our environment, everyday products, and now human bodies — and are warning of potentially grave long-term health consequences.
Study of Microplastics in Human Blood
This study reviewed findings on microplastic contamination in human blood, noting that particles have been detected in the majority of samples tested, while the health consequences remain unclear and warrant urgent further investigation.
Should we be worried about the microplastics in our bodies?
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.
The Invisible Threat: Microplastics in Human Blood and Placenta
This review summarized current evidence on microplastic detection in human blood and placenta, discussing what is known about how these particles enter the bloodstream and reach fetal tissue. The authors highlight the potential implications for maternal and fetal health.
Unraveling Microplastics: Sources, Environment and Health Impacts, and Detection Techniques
This research review summarizes what we know about microplastics—tiny pieces of plastic pollution that are now found everywhere in our environment, including inside human bodies. Scientists have found these plastic particles in our water, food, and even our blood, but we still don't fully understand what health problems they might cause. The study shows we need better ways to detect and measure microplastics, plus more research and government action to protect people from this growing pollution problem.
How much plastic are we ingesting?
This article examines the challenge of measuring human microplastic ingestion, noting that while preliminary figures exist, researchers still lack precise knowledge of daily intake levels and the full health consequences of consuming plastic particles.
Getting a grip on microplastics’ risks
This review examines the current state of microplastic risk assessment, noting that tiny plastic particles have been detected in water, food, air, human blood, lung tissue, and stool, yet their risks to human health and the environment remain unclear. The authors draw parallels with challenges faced in nanotoxicology and discuss how lessons from that field could improve methods for studying microplastic toxicity and exposure.
Microplastics: do they harm human health?
New research suggests that the amount of tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) in our bodies and environment might not be as high as scientists previously thought. However, researchers say we should still be cautious about potential health effects since we don't fully understand how these plastic particles affect our bodies over time. This finding means the microplastic problem may be less severe than feared, but more research is needed to know for sure if they're safe.
Problematic issues of the impact of microplastics on the human body and the environment: A review
This review covers the current state of knowledge on how microplastics -- highly resistant artificial polymers -- affect human health and the environment, summarizing contamination pathways, toxicological effects, and the challenges of their slow decomposition. The authors highlight significant knowledge gaps and call for better monitoring and regulatory frameworks to address the growing microplastic problem.
Approach to an answer to “How dangerous microplastics are to the human body”: A systematic review of the quantification of MPs and simultaneously exposed chemicals
This review found that despite extensive studies on microplastic abundance in the environment, their actual health risks to humans remain unknown due to the lack of clinical studies and standardized identification methods. The authors argue that risk assessment must account for chemicals migrating from plastic products alongside the microplastics themselves.
Growing concerns over ingested microplastics in humans
This paper reviews the growing body of evidence showing that microplastics have been found in various human tissues, raising public health concerns. Researchers note that while laboratory studies demonstrate microplastics can cause cellular damage, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding dose-response relationships, specific target organs, and underlying toxicological mechanisms. The study calls for improved detection technologies and thorough risk assessments to better understand the real-world health implications.
The potential effects of microplastics on human health: What is known and what is unknown
This review summarizes what is currently known about how microplastics might affect human health, noting that while contamination is widespread in food, water, and air, direct evidence of harm in humans is still limited. Studies in animals and cell cultures suggest microplastics could trigger immune responses, cause inflammation, and affect reproduction and development. The authors call for more rigorous clinical studies to determine whether the levels of microplastics that people actually encounter pose real health risks.
Microplastics as an emerging threat to human health: Challenges and advancements in their detection
This review examined microplastics as an emerging threat to human health, highlighting their endocrine-disrupting properties, ability to accumulate pollutants, and the analytical challenges in accurately detecting and characterizing them across environmental and biological samples.
Microplastics and Human Health: A Comprehensive Review on Exposure Pathways, Toxicity, and Emerging Risks
This comprehensive review examines microplastic exposure pathways in humans, methods of detection, and the potential toxic effects on various biological systems. The study highlights growing evidence that microplastics can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact, and may affect multiple organ systems, though significant uncertainties remain about long-term health outcomes.
Microplastics in Human Tissues: Sources, Distribution, Toxicological Effects, and Health Implications
Researchers reviewed the growing body of evidence that microplastics accumulate in human tissues — including lung, blood, placenta, breast milk, and heart tissue — where they can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell death. The review highlights urgent knowledge gaps around how plastic particles move through the body and what their long-term health effects may be.
Micro‐ and Nanoplastics—An Invisible Threat to Human Health
This review describes micro- and nanoplastics as an invisible threat to human health, examining how their small size and chemical complexity make them difficult to detect and assess. The authors call for better analytical tools, standardized methods, and expanded epidemiological research.
Are Microplastics a Macro Issue? A Review on the Sources of Contamination, Analytical Challenges and Impact on Human Health of Microplastics in Food
This systematic review examines how microplastics enter the human food supply and what health effects they may cause. The research found microplastics in a wide range of foods, but major inconsistencies in testing methods make it difficult to determine true contamination levels. While the full health impact remains unclear, the evidence suggests that microplastic exposure through food is widespread and warrants further study.
The Effects of Microplastic and Nano Plastic Particles on the Environment and the Human Body
This paper reviews the current evidence on the effects of microplastic and nanoplastic particles on both the environment and human health, noting that the topic has been underexplored partly due to scientific complexity and the influence of large industrial interests.
Knowledge gaps on micro and nanoplastics and human health: A critical review
This critical review assessed current evidence on micro- and nanoplastic exposure and human health, concluding that while humans are ubiquitously exposed via food, water, and air, the long-term health effects of chronic low-level exposure remain poorly understood.
Unveiling the presence of micro and nanoplastics in human biological matrices: A systematic review covering the latest five years from 2020 to 2025
This systematic review covering 2020-2025 confirmed the presence of micro- and nanoplastics in human blood, placenta, lungs, liver, kidneys, and other biological matrices. The findings demonstrate that plastic particles are accumulating in human tissues through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact, raising urgent questions about long-term health consequences.
Micro and nano-plastics, a threat to human health?
This review examines the threat micro- and nanoplastics pose to human health, discussing how these persistent particles accumulate in organs including lungs, the gastrointestinal system, and blood, and how their chemical composition and size influence toxicity.
Microplastics: Their effects on the environment, human health, and plant ecosystems
Researchers reviewed how microplastics enter the human body through ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact, potentially causing cell damage, hormone disruption, and cardiovascular harm, while also degrading soil quality and stunting plant growth. The review urges urgent action given how thoroughly these particles have infiltrated both human health and agricultural systems.
Microplastics and human health: A scientometric analysis
Researchers conducted a scientometric analysis of the scientific literature on microplastics and human health, mapping research trends and publication patterns. The study reveals a rapidly growing body of evidence exploring how ubiquitous microplastic contamination may affect human health, while identifying gaps in current research that need further investigation.
Detrimental effects of microplastics in aquatic fauna on marine and freshwater environments – A comprehensive review
This review examines the detrimental effects of microplastics on aquatic fauna in both marine and freshwater environments, highlighting that only 13% of studies focus on freshwater systems, and reviewing evidence including the detection of microplastics in human blood from 17 of 22 tested individuals.