Search Explore

  • tantalor · 57 minutes ago

    tldr, not much because we can't measure it to begin with

    • Agrue8u · 41 minutes ago

      did read, >e360: Do we really eat a credit card’s worth of plastic each week? >Rauert: That has absolutely been debunked

      and >...we found is that lipids and fats will give you a false positive for polyethylene. Lipids are made up of the same building blocks as polyethylene, so when we analyze them, they look identical in our analysis instrument. >I know it is easy to say we don’t have enough information yet, but we do know about [the health risks from] these chemicals that are in all the plastics that your food is wrapped in.

      • culi · 24 minutes ago

        Not just because we can't measure it but because its hard to say what's due to the plastic and what's due to additives in the plastics

        > And while we know a lot about the impact of chemicals added to plastic — such as phthalates, which have been shown to impact fertility, or bisphenols, which have been linked to Type 2 diabetes — we know very little about what effect the plastic particles themselves might be having.

      • MarkusQ · 44 minutes ago

        Very nice to see someone actually looking at the issue objectively instead of the unholy blend of clickbait, shoddy "science" and either fear mongering or blind denialism we usually see.

        Getting to the point where we're actually able to measure something real is good progress.

        • radiusvector · 35 minutes ago

          Did she debunk that article that was around microplastics in human testicles?

          • wxw · 28 minutes ago

            Some stand out takeaways:

            > We assessed how reliable current measures are for trying to find microplastics in blood. And what we found is that lipids and fats will give you a false positive for polyethylene.

            > We worked with an architect, and we built the lab pretty much from scratch. [...] So we ended up going with stainless steel. It was the only way to not have any plastics.

            > I don’t think we’ve got really good evidence at all for what effects [microplastics particles on their own] might be having on human bodies. If we’re eating plastics, what size and what type of plastic can actually get into the bloodstream?

            • culi · 25 minutes ago

              This is a great interview, though I'd caution against reading it like a literature review. It's just the views and opinions of a single (relevant and qualified) expert

            • The_Blade · 23 minutes ago

              one word: microplastics

              • godwinson__4-8 · 22 minutes ago

                Are the microplastics in the room with us now?

                • ChrisClark · 13 minutes ago

                  yes

                  • ButlerianJihad · 8 minutes ago

                    Please show us on the doll where the microplastics hurt you, for the jury please.

                  • AyanamiKaine · 15 minutes ago

                    Microplastics have always fascinated me, because I keep seeing article after article about how much microplastic exists around us, but far less strong evidence about its actual effects. That is not to say there are no effects, of course. Maybe we just have not found them yet.

                    A friend of mine worked on her bachelor’s thesis about the effects of microplastics on the immune system, specifically T cells. Her result was that the microplastic particles she studied were too large to interact with T cells.

                    She probably will not publish this result because she thinks it is not interesting enough. Classic file-drawer problem in academic science.

                    While I encourage her to do it anyways as a negative results is also interesting but she wanted results that are worthing of headlines in magazines.

                    • app13 · 12 minutes ago

                      I participated in research from 2017-2022 that found similar results regarding bio-interactions, generally.

                      Learned a lot about making microfludic flow cells at least

                      • codybontecou · 7 minutes ago

                        Can microplastics never get small enough to interact with T cells?

                      • andrenotgiant · 15 minutes ago

                        I think hate of plastics is an emergent form of elitism.

                        Upwardly mobile middle/upper class people who've sort of "maxed out" the amount of personal identity they can buy with regular plastic things can unlock a new level of identity by deciding that plastics are bad for them and eliminating plastics from their life, a process which conveniently requires buying a whole new set of things that distinguish them from their peers.

                        This is the only way I can explain how irrational and inconsistent plastic-haters behavior is. There is so much invisible plastic in their life that they don't seem to care about.

                        • ButlerianJihad · 9 minutes ago

                          Even more so: plastics are not a specific chemical and they are not a specific material. Plastic is a category of materials that is very broad and very wide. You can make plastics out of almost anything. Therefore, to hate on plastics is to basically hate on an entire category of engineering and material design but not to actually know what a plastic is... sheer ignorance.

                          • cobbzilla · 7 minutes ago

                            > requires buying a whole new set of things that distinguish them from their peers

                            No, it requires buying a whole new set of things to fit in with and be accepted by their peers, to distinguish themselves from the outgroup.

                            I don’t necessarily believe this is some emergent elitism; I see it more as a modern religion with many many rules about eating and consumption (using plastic is now a sin)

                          • skyq · 10 minutes ago

                            I have grown to accept it. It is part of me now

                            • danteocualesjr · 7 minutes ago

                              we have recently transitioned to only using glass bottles in our family.