Microplastic contamination refers to the presence and distribution of synthetic polymer particles typically <5 mm in environmental matrices, including marine, freshwater, terrestrial, atmospheric, and biological systems. As a research topic, it encompasses sources (primary and secondary microplastics), transport pathways (e.g., hydrodynamic and atmospheric dispersion), physicochemical properties (size, shape, polymer type, surface chemistry), and interactions with co-contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and metals. Studies investigate bioavailability, trophic transfer, organismal and cellular responses, and potential human exposure via inhalation and ingestion, as well as methodological challenges in sampling, analytical detection, quantification, and risk assessment frameworks.
Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have, for the first time, provided concrete figures on the abrasion of mountain bike tires in off-road conditions. Their findings, published in Science of The Total Environment contribute ...
Environment
Apr 3, 2025
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96
New research reveals that PET-based glitter microplastics can actively influence biomineralization processes in marine environments, raising fresh concerns about the long-term environmental impact of microplastic pollution ...
Environment
Apr 1, 2025
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62
While the threat that microplastics pose to human and ecological health has been richly documented and is well known, nanoplastics, which are smaller than one micrometer (1/50th the thickness of an average human hair), are ...
Environment
Apr 1, 2025
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93
By coring the seabed at 850 m water depth in Disko Bay off Greenland's west coast, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have obtained the first historical record of plastic pollution in Greenland. The new data suggest ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 21, 2025
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61
Thousands of tons of plastic pollution could be escaping into the environment every year … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is made from a variety of oil-based synthetic rubbers—similar to the plastic material used ...
Environment
Mar 17, 2025
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73
A research team led by Prof. Gao Xiaoming from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has improved residual neural networks to accurately classify and identify microplastics using low-quality ...
Environment
Mar 14, 2025
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39
Polystyrene nanoparticles are widely used in packaging, but their effects on organisms are unclear. Very little was known about how they affect blood cell development until now.
Bio & Medicine
Mar 11, 2025
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43
University of Waterloo researchers have pinpointed for the first time how microplastics accumulate in coral reefs, a key step to understanding how to protect vulnerable ecosystems.
Bio & Medicine
Feb 10, 2025
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102
Wuhan University-led research is reporting the development of a revivable self-assembled supramolecular biomass fibrous framework (a novel foam filter) that efficiently removes microplastics from complex aquatic environments.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have developed a novel nanotechnology-based solution for the removal of micro- and nanoplastics from water. Their research is published in the journal Micron.
Bio & Medicine
Nov 12, 2024
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