Microplastics Found in Human Blood for First Time
Microplastics found in human blood for first time:
Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.
The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
[...] The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.
"Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it's a breakthrough result," said Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. "But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc." Further studies by a number of groups are already under way, he said.
[...] "We also know in general that babies and young children are more vulnerable to chemical and particle exposure," he said. "That worries me a lot."
[...] Vethaak acknowledged that the amount and type of plastic varied considerably between the blood samples. "But this is a pioneering study," he said, with more work now needed. He said the differences might reflect short-term exposure before the blood samples were taken, such as drinking from a plastic-lined coffee cup, or wearing a plastic face mask.
"The big question is what is happening in our body?" Vethaak said. "Are the particles retained in the body? Are they transported to certain organs, such as getting past the blood-brain barrier?" And are these levels sufficiently high to trigger disease? We urgently need to fund further research so we can find out."
Scientists Find Microplastics in Blood for First Time
Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time:
[...] "This is the first time we have actually been able to detect and quantify" such microplastics in human blood, said Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
"This is proof that we have plastics in our body—and we shouldn't," he told AFP, calling for further research to investigate how it could be impacting health.
"Where is it going in your body? Can it be eliminated? Excreted? Or is it retained in certain organs, accumulating maybe, or is it even able to pass the blood-brain barrier?"
The study said the microplastics could have entered the body by many routes: via air, water or food, but also in products such as particular toothpastes, lip glosses and tattoo ink.
"It is scientifically plausible that plastic particles may be transported to organs via the bloodstream," the study added.
Vethaak also said there could be other kinds of microplastics in blood his study did not pick up—for example, it could not detect particles larger than the diameter of the needle used to take the sample.
Journal Reference:
Heather A.Leslie, et. al., Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood [open], Environment International (DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107199)
(Score: 2) by Barenflimski on Sunday March 27 2022, @04:15PM (2 children)
Its all goo. You are what you eat and what you're surrounded with. Sit in cess long enough and you'll eventually be made of cess.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @04:24PM
Suck cess?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:32PM
Now we just have to charge people extra for Ozonated Microplastic Supplments in the water.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 27 2022, @04:23PM (3 children)
Their plumbing is clogged with plastic debris?
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @04:43PM
It's feminizing boys, or causing autism. At least the lead is out of the gas.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @04:47AM (1 child)
From IRC:
Hmm, I say, let it stand. Runaway is the fool, here. Time to rain him in and not let him commit phallasies.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @10:36AM
Looks like Runaway has admin armor! Dude is un-spam modable. So much for free speech on SoylentNews. Time for the Founder to carry out his threat.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Sunday March 27 2022, @05:07PM (9 children)
Drinks always taste better in glass, to me anyway. Others claim not to notice any difference. I have always fancied I was tasting trace amounts of plastic that had leached into the drink. Same thing with drinking from a metal cup, can taste a bit of metal. Of course, if the drink came from a plastic bottle, serving it in glass may not help much.
It's a heck of a problem. If you have little kids drink from glass, there will be accidents ending with broken glass on the floor. Worse case, they also cut themselves. Very tedious to clean that up, but broken glass is dangerous, can't make do with a half-assed, quick clean up, got to be thorough. Adults are by no means immune to mistakes that end up shattering a glass. You could carpet the kitchen to cushion dropped glasses so they don't break, but keeping that clean is another major pain.
I've been hoping for sea shell inspired drinking cups. If pearl could be manufactured cheaply, maybe we could all have pearl glasses, bowls, and plates. Hard and clean like glass, but so much less brittle. Or, maybe something can be added to glass. Corningware is not bad, doesn't shatter at the slightest tap like stoneware, but it can still shatter into razor sharp fragments. Pearl would be much better.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:39PM (2 children)
Metal can for decades have been lined with a thin plastic coating to avoid that metal taste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @10:36PM (1 child)
Except for the part where the mouth actually contacts the can...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @10:55PM
It's a million times better than it used to be, though.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:52PM
My ancestors made knives and other cutting and scraping tools from shells.
Another poster mentions plasticized metal containers - true, common enough for some acidities. Those are actually a significant source of BPA. You can search to confirm; it's true.
Food out of glass or enamel does indeed avoid bringing the contaminant flavours of other containers along.
I was amazed as a youth when our "big" plastic mixing bowl (wasn't that big, yellow with a pourspout and handle) basically shattered for no reason one day. My mom showed me pictures of it when it was a wedding gift and it was a dark orange-yellow instead of a beige. She explained to me that some things get brittle with time. Years later I found out that plastics got brittle because they leech plasticisers (which keep it supple) into food and washwater.
I've done blind taste tests and I can definitely tell whether acidic fruit juice has been sitting in a bottled-water bottle, a stainless camping cup, or glass. It might not be leeching, eg. the metal might be conducting ions and allowing some degradation pathway, the plastic might be surface level microfuzz capturing more pulp or something, idk. But we've done that one while luxcamping when a friend claimed it wasn't possible, and 3 out of 4 of us were pretty reliable.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday March 27 2022, @09:26PM (3 children)
How about a glass lining for a metal can, with a foam lining? That way if you drop it there's some cushioning.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 28 2022, @02:10PM (2 children)
Aladdin and others did that for years, and called them "thermoses". I replaced a number of the glass thermos liners when I was young. I snatched up the first stainless steel thermos I laid eyes on, despite the fact it was quite expensive. I could have bought five or more glass lined thermoses for the price of that stainless steel thermos, but I had enough of changing out the liners.
Today, I mostly drink from a Yeti tumbler that was given to me as a Christmas present. Nice stainless 12 ounce mug, with an insulating white spongy insulating layer on the outside.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @11:40PM (1 child)
More data for the Runaway doxxing dossier!
Even calendar parameters. Must have been purchased from a Walmart, there being no other vendors left in Arkansas. Taken together with his vax status, almost enough to pin down an exact location.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 29 2022, @11:06AM
Parent modded Spam by admin at request of Runaway1956, per IRC conversation at https://logs.sylnt.us/%23soylent/2022-03-29.html [sylnt.us]
Yes, the Spam mod is now the "confirmed aristarchus" mod, in order to protect Runaway's feelings. Does he not know that Yeti is in favor of gun control?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Sunday March 27 2022, @10:06PM
Have you forgotten the ancient art of ceramics? Don't use lead glaze...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Sunday March 27 2022, @05:14PM
I've seen conspiracy video titles claiming the coronavirus vaccines have been injecting graphene and nano-machines into the bloodstream. How long before they harvest the micro-plastics and start cranking out cheap kitchenware? Levy sanctions on that, America!
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Sunday March 27 2022, @06:10PM (8 children)
Have you seen how hog feed is made? They have this macerator/grinder with a conveyor belt. Some good ol boys in Bobcats shovel all the expired and unused junk food from gas stations and super markets. It's just 15ft piles of twinkies, twizzlers, cupcakes, bread all in their original packaging. They grind all that shit up and process it into uniform brown pellets.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:36PM
Hey you can't share the Colonel's secret recipe!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:56PM (3 children)
Yeah. There's lots of proof.
This is in the USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DY70yxWC5A [youtube.com]
I've seen video evidence of this in Egypt, China, and somewhere in Europe (I think it was France? been years).
Hard to know exactly how prevalent, but it definitely makes "microplastics found in 100% of meat samples!" news reports fail to surprise. (And yes, that's also a real result, in the USA - can't find the exact result, search yourself if you care)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @08:26PM (2 children)
That's a deep fake video.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @10:07PM (1 child)
Yeah, but it's heated to 1000 degrees! Even if the video is what it claims to be, the guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Hydrocarbons generally ignite at half that temperature.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @09:03AM
1000 degrees?
Sounds like Kingsford originated the process.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday March 27 2022, @09:28PM
In their packaging? Welp, I guess adaptation is the only choice we have then. Maybe they could supplement gut flora with those plastic-eating bacteria so it eventually gets filtered out of your body. And I'm *certain* none of the byproducts of bacterial plastic consumption would be biohazardous over time.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday March 27 2022, @09:44PM (1 child)
I would be a fool to say that's not true. But, I can state that I've never seen such an operation. All the animal feed I've ever seen was made from grains and grain products, bone meal, feather meal, egg meal, fish meal, and vegetables. I wouldn't go so far as to say all the ingredients were "wholesome", but I've never seen what we might call garbage used for animal feed.
You would more likely be disgusted touring a cheese plant, than most animal feed plants.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @11:11PM
Another thing Runaway does not know! Amazing. But, there was that one accident at the plant, where Runsaway bent over too close the the high-pressure plastic injection mold, and half of a leaf-blower shroud went right into his buttock before the safeties kicked in. Explains a lot of the noise that comes out of Runaway.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @06:43PM (2 children)
Did you practice on vegetables or did you go for the real thing?
Now, about how many times per week do you suck cock?
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @06:56PM (1 child)
-nomsg
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:21PM
> By watching your dad do it.
He likes to move himself back and forth and let his penis slap his belly button.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @06:46PM (2 children)
My cock is STEAMING and craves a nice tight wet hole.
What is the best online dating service for people with STEAMING cocks?
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:38PM
You're already here - welcome, friend.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @09:10AM
I understand Lorena Bobbitt is running the hot dog concession at the ball park.
I think she might have a use for it. A little tough, but the tenderizer would make quick work of it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @06:52PM (4 children)
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/hc0402.104118 [ahajournals.org]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793372/ [nih.gov]
Go and learn biology, people. The FUD bombardment that we all are being subjected to, is more toxic than all the dust particles out there combined.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @07:59PM (3 children)
Macrophages then process (or move to other processing sites) what they envelop.
Do you think they can decompose plastics?
Hint: most cannot.
Do you think they are instant, perfect, and require no resources to create and break down?
Hint: lol, go review some fucking microbi, macrophages in humans sure as fuck are not decomposing most plastics.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @08:40PM (2 children)
Depends on the plastics. And what macrophages cannot decompose, they contain.
Source? A publication in a refereed journal, please.
Hint: most plastics are NOT resistant to reactive oxygen species, which is what macrophages use.
Do you think no other dust of any kind exists in the natural world? Or do you think I would not remember the very obvious fact that it does?
Hint: LOL, you are far too stupid to do useful propaganda work in any matters scientific. Contact your handler for a reassignment.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @08:53PM (1 child)
What I want to know is where the plastic that doesn't decompose ends up. Hopefully in my dick (praying).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 27 2022, @09:09PM
The hope is in vain. ;) The non-decomposable stuff ends up staying around the place it got captured. See, for example, tattoo ink:
https://www.bio-rad-antibodies.com/blog/how-macrophages-make-tattoos-last.html [bio-rad-antibodies.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 28 2022, @06:55PM
My (male) body, my choice. You take away my plastics, you're taking away my freedoms. It should be up to me whether I want plastics in my body. First Obama came and took away my incandescent bulbs and now this socialist crap. This is tyranny! I'm going to park my truck in the middle of your city if you don't watch your step.