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.
"Dirty" or "extremely dirty": these are the classifications of 46% of the world's aquatic environments. This conclusion comes from a study that compiled and systematized data from 6,049 records of waste contamination in aquatic ...
Environment
Feb 6, 2026
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69
What do microplastics, water color, and satellites have in common? Dr. Karl Kaiser, professor of marine and coastal environmental science in the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston ...
Environment
Feb 4, 2026
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26
Plastic pollution is causing severe problems worldwide. However, negotiations at the United Nations in Geneva last August did not result in the expected global plastics treaty. On 7 February 2026, the Intergovernmental Negotiating ...
Environment
Feb 3, 2026
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23
As concerns rise about the effects of tiny plastic particles on human health, Flinders University researchers have led new research on whether nanoplastics can accumulate or cause damage in kidneys—our body's major blood ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 3, 2026
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21
Researchers led by Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1357 Microplastics at the University of Bayreuth have overturned a common scientific assumption in a new study: Microplastic particles do not all exhibit similar transport ...
Environment
Feb 3, 2026
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16
A University of Missouri researcher is pioneering an innovative solution to remove tiny bits of plastic pollution from our water. Mizzou's Susie Dai recently applied a revolutionary strain of algae toward capturing and removing ...
Biotechnology
Feb 2, 2026
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383
Some brands of bottled water contain significantly higher levels of microplastics than tap water, according to new research by scientists who have developed a novel method for detecting these tiny particles.
Environment
Feb 2, 2026
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529
Dangerous concentrations of algae such as "red tides" have been consistently emerging in locations around the world. A region in Southern Australia is experiencing a nine-month toxic algae bloom that spans thousands of miles ...
Environment
Feb 1, 2026
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402
Switching to biodegradable plastics could slash toxic pollution by more than a third and dramatically reduce global waste by mid-century, but only if cities and companies invest in the right disposal systems, a Yale School ...
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
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25
A third of fish living in the remote coastal waters of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories are contaminated with microplastics, with especially high rates in Fiji, according to an analysis published in PLOS One by ...
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
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