Microplastics - Are Tiny Plastics Harming Our Brains?

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Microplastics can be found everywhere from freshly falling Antarctic snow to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and our brains are no exception. In this episode of Change Your Mind with New Scientist, Health Journalists Cat de Lange and Helen Thomson trace the origins of microplastics and nanoplastics to tell the story of how they end up in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. There’s no question that these tiny plastic particles are in all of our bodies, but are they causing any harm there? With the help of “godfather of microplastics” Professor Richard Thompson, they explore what decades of animal studies really show about development, fertility, behaviour and brain health and why it’s so hard to get definitive answers in humans. Are microplastics really building up in our brains, and if so, what might that mean for memory, mood or dementia risk? Should you be worried about your non-stick pans, plastic water bottles or synthetic clothes? Produced by Emily Bird We want to hear your thoughts, leave a comment or send in your ideas for future episodes to ⁠⁠⁠changeyourmind@newscientist.com⁠ Find out more about the microplastics at New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article-topic/microplastic/ Learn more about our sponsor Alzheimer’s Society: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.newscientist.com/alzheimers-society/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sources: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr8243#sec-3 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36867907/ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/924520 https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2309822 https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1120173 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04324-7