Microplastics Kill Human Cells: Long-Term Effects Revealed In New Study

Microplastics are humanity's curse to our formerly pristine planet Earth. With extremely tiny particles of plastic virtually present in everything we create and consume, "the microplastic problem" is now our tragic reality.

Not too long ago, scientists found microplastics in the placentas of unborn babies. While they called it a "matter of great concern," scientists were unsure about how microplastics affect the human body.

Now, we might finally have some answers about how microplastics affect human cells. It appears that by polluting the Earth with microplastics, we've essentially waged war on our own well-being.

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Microplastics can kill human cells

In a petri dish, microplastics were able to cause "significant damage" to human cells, a study has found.

Microplastics are plastic plastics measuring less than five millimetres. "This is the first-time scientists have attempted to quantify the effects of the levels of microplastics on human cells using a statistical analysis of the available published studies," study author and PhD student Evangelos Danopoulos said in statement.

Also read:?Microplastics From Packaging & Soda Bottles Travel In Atmosphere Across Continents Through Wind

Danopoulos added how microplastics were able to cause "cell death" and allergic reactions. This is grave news, considering our dependency on plastic isn't expected to go down anytime soon. In the coming century, all ecosystems on Earth would be directly facing the consequences of deadly microplastics.

Reuters

Two routes that dictate our exposure to microplastics are through ingestion and inhalation. Besides the placenta, microplastics have also been found in human lung tissue.

The study claims that microplastics that are consumed through ingestion caused cell death, damaged cell membranes and triggered allergic reactions.

Also read:?New Research Finds Microplastics In Placentas Of Unborn Babies

While it is clear that human care consuming microplastics in high numbers, scientists still don't know how the body expels these microplastics. More studies like this one could help us truly understand the magnitude of damage caused by microplastics.??

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What do you think - are we doing enough to tackle pollution caused by plastics? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?science and tech, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.??

Citation

A rapid review and meta-regression analyses of the toxicological impacts of microplastic exposure in human cells. (2021, November 24). ScienceDirect.?

Microplastics found to be harmful to human cells, new study shows. (2021). EurekAlert!?