microplastics
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Earth
Microplastics: What’s trapping new threats in our stream?
River algae can be found in Notre Dame-linked experimental ecosystem facilities or in rivers in the ND Reef. Here, experiments were conducted for a study titled “The impact of microplastic fiber transport and retention in rivers is affected by benthic algae, discharge, and substrates.” Credit: Shannon Speir Small plastic particles found in everyday products, from microplastics, face washes to toothpaste,…
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Environment
Microplastics discovered in Caddy’s free casings since the 1970s suggest long-term contamination
The casing of the Ironoquia Dubia (RMNH.INS.1544419) was collected on May 18, 1971 in Lornen, Netherlands. Credit: Science of Total Environment (2025). doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178947 A team of biologists working at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, a Dutch research museum, have discovered evidence of using Caddisisplastics with microplastics back to the 1970s. In their study, a group reported in the journal Science…
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Chemistry
New water micro cleaner is floating to capture and remove microplastics, which is different from the self
A system that captures microplastics from water works in one cycle. Credit: Orlin Velev/NC State University. In a new paper, researchers at North Carolina State University provide proof of concept of a system that actively removes microplastics from water in a single cycle. The findings listed in the Journal Advanced Functional Materials hold the potential for advances in purifying small…
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Chemistry
AI Programs Help You Tackle Global Microplastics Challenges
Credit: Journal of Hasardous Materials (2024). doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136989 Monash researchers have developed a new AI program to help scientists in the global battle against the tragedy of environmental microplastics. This study is published in the Journal of Hasardous Materials. Despite making headlines in recent years, many scientists and policymakers still don’t know the scale of the question, including what kind of…
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Chemistry
Microplastics found in multiple human organ tissues correlate with pathologies
Graphical summary. Credit: TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2024.118114 A study led by China’s Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University conducted a metadata survey on the presence of microplastics in humans. They report a worrying relationship between micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) concentrations in injured tissues and associations with multiple health conditions. Plastic usage has skyrocketed from 1.5 million tons…
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Nanotechnology
Removing microplastics and nanoplastics from water in a low-cost way
Overview of the purification process: Water contaminated by microplastics (PET). Addition of magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with polydopamine and lipase. A magnet is used to remove nanoparticles contained in microplastics. Credit: Enrique Eisi Thoma Researchers at Brazil’s University of São Paulo (USP) have developed a new nanotechnology-based solution to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. Their research is published in the…
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Environment
Tracking microplastics: Helps researchers discover how microplastics move to improve stormwater management
Nasrin Alamdari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, poses next to the central pond stormwater culvert at Innovation Park in Tallahassee. Professor Alamdari studies the transport of microplastics from urban environments to water resources via stormwater runoff. Credit: Scott Holstein/FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Microplastic pollution is a serious environmental problem that harms animals and…
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Science
Microplastics may enter the brain through breathing – new research
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Tiny plastic particles are everywhere: in the soil where our food is grown, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. They get there from the plastic we throw away and end up in landfills, rivers and oceans. There, plastic waste slowly breaks down, releasing tiny particles called microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics into the…
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Environment
Scientists review 7,000 studies on microplastics, and their startling conclusions are a warning to humanity
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain It’s been 20 years since the journal Science published a paper showing the accumulation of tiny plastic fragments and fibres in the environment, particles that the journal dubbed “microplastics”. This paper opened up an entirely new field of research, and since then, over 7,000 studies have been published demonstrating the pervasiveness of microplastics in the environment,…
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Environment
A possible explanation for the ‘missing plastic problem’: New detection technique finds microplastics in coral skeletons
Various microplastics collected from corals off the coast of Koh Sichang in the Gulf of Thailand. As can be seen from their color, shape and size, the corals have ingested a variety of microplastics, many of which are thinner than a human hair. Photo courtesy of Kyushu University/Isobe Laboratory Researchers from Japan and Thailand investigating microplastics in corals have discovered…
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