{"id":28069,"date":"2025-05-20T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=28069"},"modified":"2025-05-20T09:26:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:26:23","slug":"what-experts-want-you-to-know-about-microplastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=28069","title":{"rendered":"What Experts Want You to Know About Microplastics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Recent headlines (including <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/08\/well\/microplastics-health.html\" title>in this<\/a> publication) have raised concerns about microplastics in our bodies and the harm they may be doing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scientists say it could be years before we have a full understanding of how these tiny plastic particles are affecting human health. But we do know they have been found from the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.geochemicalperspectivesletters.org\/article1829\/#Fig3\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">depths of the Mariana Trench<\/a> to the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/plastics-remote-places-microplastics-earth-mount-everest\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">heights of Mount Everest<\/a>. And we know that plastic is accumulating in our bodies, too. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat \u2014 it\u2019s in it,\u201d said Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth who <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.1094559\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">coined the term \u201cmicroplastics\u201d<\/a> in a 2004 paper. \u201cWe\u2019re exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-5e044a2\">What are microplastics?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scientists generally define \u201cmicroplastics\u201d as pieces less than 5 millimeters long. Nanoplastics, which measure less than 1 micrometer, are the smallest of these and the most likely to get into our blood and tissues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Microplastics mostly come from larger plastics, which degrade with use or when they aren\u2019t disposed of properly, said Jeffrey Farner, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Florida A&amp;M University-Florida State University College of Engineering.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe use plastics in areas or in ways that lend themselves to the production of microplastics or to the breakdown over time,\u201d Dr. Farner said \u2014 for example, in construction materials that are weathered outdoors, in tubing that generates microplastics when it is cut and in agriculture, as plastic mulch or in irrigation systems.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fwell%2Fmicroplastics-health-risks.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fwell%2Fmicroplastics-health-risks.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fwell%2Fmicroplastics-health-risks.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fwell%2Fmicroplastics-health-risks.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent headlines (including in this publication) have raised concerns about microplastics in our bodies and the harm they may be doing.Scientists say it could be years before we have a full understanding of how these tiny plastic particles are affecting human health. But we do know they have been found from the depths of the Mariana Trench to the heights of Mount Everest. And we know that plastic is accumulating in our bodies, too. \u201cThe air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat \u2014 it\u2019s in it,\u201d said Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth who coined the term \u201cmicroplastics\u201d in a 2004 paper. \u201cWe\u2019re exposed.\u201dWhat are microplastics?Scientists generally define \u201cmicroplastics\u201d as pieces less than 5 millimeters long. Nanoplastics, which measure less than 1 micrometer, are the smallest of these and the most likely to get into our blood and tissues.Microplastics mostly come from larger plastics, which degrade with use or when they aren\u2019t disposed of properly, said Jeffrey Farner, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Florida A&#038;M University-Florida State University College of Engineering.\u201cWe use plastics in areas or in ways that lend themselves to the production of microplastics or to the breakdown over time,\u201d Dr. Farner said \u2014 for example, in construction materials that are weathered outdoors, in tubing that generates microplastics when it is cut and in agriculture, as plastic mulch or in irrigation systems.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28071,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28069"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28072,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28069\/revisions\/28072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}