Microplastics in Placentas Linked To Premature Births, Study Suggests (theguardian.com) 30
A study has found microplastic and nanoplastic pollution to be significantly higher in placentas from premature births than in those from full-term births. From a report: The levels were much higher than previously detected in blood, suggesting the tiny plastic particles were accumulating in the placenta. But the higher average levels found in the shorter pregnancies were a "big surprise" for the researchers, as longer terms could be expected to lead to more accumulation.
Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant death worldwide, and the reasons for about two-thirds of all preterm births were unknown, said Dr Enrico Barrozo, of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, US. The established link between air pollution and millions of premature births had spurred the research team to investigate plastic pollution.
The new study only demonstrates an association between microplastics and premature births. Further research is needed in cell cultures and animal models to determine if the link is causal. Microplastics are known to cause inflammation in human cells, and inflammation is one of the factors that prompts the start of labour.
Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant death worldwide, and the reasons for about two-thirds of all preterm births were unknown, said Dr Enrico Barrozo, of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, US. The established link between air pollution and millions of premature births had spurred the research team to investigate plastic pollution.
The new study only demonstrates an association between microplastics and premature births. Further research is needed in cell cultures and animal models to determine if the link is causal. Microplastics are known to cause inflammation in human cells, and inflammation is one of the factors that prompts the start of labour.
Probably just one of many things... (Score:3, Interesting)
... that microplastics screw up in our physiology. And of course not just us - the effect they're having on the natural world is far worse.
What a shame people like Bezos and Musk spend their fortunes on sending giant dildos into orbit into doing something useful with their money such as helping research into fully biodegradable materials as an alternative to current disposable plastics.
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But it's so much easier to just terraform Mars than to clean up Earth./s
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... why not just put them in a dam paper box.
Because then these same people will complain about all the trees being cut down.
These people are just hating on humans, or perhaps the technology humans have produced. There's no pleasing them. I'm seeing a cultural shift and that is really upsetting those that dominated the culture for decades. They are angry at plastics, nuclear power, fossil fuels, President Trump, but those are all symptoms of a deeper issue. They are angry at the people that caused these things, and likely angry at themselves.
I'm
Re: Probably just one of many things... (Score:2)
"These people are just hating on humans"
Yeah, people trying to find out why humans are having health problems are just hateful!
Clown.
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... that microplastics screw up in our physiology.
Actually, that doesn't follow from this study. It may be true, or it may not be. Microplastics are correlated with a lot of things, including diet. Highly processed foods are more likely to contain microplastics in higher concentrations, and that is already correlated with higher rates of obesity, which increases the risk of premature birth. So there is no need for microplastics to be a cause at all. They could be entirely a symptom of the root cause, which is eating too many highly processed foods.
Or
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Launching "giant dildos" into space is helping us in research to clean up the environment.
I remember seeing many times how many beneficial technologies came out of the Apollo program. To beat the Soviets to the moon meant having to develop new materials, new computers, new communications technologies, new optics, and most relevant to this topic, new medical sciences. This new "space race" is now as much among different companies in the USA as it is with the USA still proving to other nations we can put hu
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The obvious solution (Score:2)
Let's elect a congress and administration that wants to abolish the EPA and deregulate everything they possibly can so that they can increase shareholder value.
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Let's elect a congress and administration that wants to abolish the EPA and deregulate everything they possibly can so that they can increase shareholder value.
I say we elect a congress and administration that does away with the EPA and regulations so that such regulations can be done at the state level.
I suspect the congresscritters in DC don't much care about the quality of the water where I live. They will do what they believe gets them the most votes from their districts. There's people in California concerned about the nitrogen runoff from crops in far off states because they live such easy lives that they look for things to be concerned about, and that lea
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from what i heard (Score:2)
Correlation or causation? (Score:2)
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You could always write a paper instead of speculating.
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First question...are people around plastics more likely to have other conditions for premature birth?
Yes. People exposed to microplastics are more likely to consume ultraprocessed foods, which are correlated with obesity, which is correlated with premature birth.
...or do microplastics contribute to premature birth?
There's no way to know without controlling for obesity, which unfortunately this study did not. They controlled for a whole lot of other things, like race, socioeconomic status, etc., but not obesity.
I will wager the correlation largely will go away once you factor in sleep, fitness, and stress levels.
I suspect it will largely go away when you control for obesity. Controlling for sleep, fitness, and stress levels, being contributors to obesity,
Shrink-wrap babies (Score:2)
Correlation is not causation (Score:1)
From the fine article:
Some mothers are at higher risk of preterm births, due to their age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. But a strong link between the plastic particles and premature birth remained even when these factors were taken into account.
âoeThis study showed an association and not causation,â said Barrozo. âoeBut I think it is important to increase peopleâ(TM)s awareness of microplastics and their associations with potential human health effects.â
The article points out that they haven't proved any causation but for some reason they believe it important to increase people's awareness of potential impacts on health.
I'm all on board with minimizing plastic waste and keeping plastic from contaminating our food and our bodies. Without some alternatives though we are left wondering what to do. We are also left wondering what micro-plastics could do if not contained since this study doesn't really tell us much of anything. So they
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These syringes are a life saving technology because it means less risk of infection and contamination because diabetics aren't taking apart syringes made of steel, glass, and rubber to have them sterilized for re-use.
Nobody is saying to ban plastic syringes you twat. How about not using as much plastic in food prep and storage and keeping it out the oceans and waterways?
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Nobody is saying to ban plastic syringes you twat.
Neither is he... you twat.
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Nobody is saying the only source of micro-plastics is insulin syringes. I was jut using that as an example on how plastics have benefited our health and that until there's a better alternative we'd benefit from continued use of plastics than going back to older technologies. I also used it as an example on what could cause correlation without causation.
I like glass food containers, but they inevitably come with plastic lids that eventually crack, which means I need to dispose of them and find a replacemen
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Here is a causation for you: Microplastic in environment -> microplastic in placentas. Because it can only work in that direction.
No idea why some assholes (like you) always insist there is nothing wrong.
Ban Plastic Dildo's (Score:1)
Musk will hook you up with some fresh stainless steel!
Think of the unaborted babies!
Shit where you eat (Score:2)
Turns out it is not a good idea at all. But short-term profits rule human decision making. Pathetic.
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