4 ms·

> and possibly could get into cells like asbestos To be clear, there is no current evidence that microplastics might share any mechanisms with asbestos/CNTs/et

by shawnz 7y ago

> and possibly could get into cells like asbestos To be clear, there is no current evidence that microplastics might share any mechanisms with asbestos/CNTs/etc, right?

DoreenMichele 7y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I do know that people with cystic fibrosis have a bad habit of dying of infections from microorganisms that are usually not deemed infectious for most humans. When you google the names of the microorganisms in question, some of them are used by scientists for bioremediation of petrochemical spills. In other words, they eat petrochemicals. They also think people with CF are tasty as hell while not much caring for "normal" humans, which looks rather suspect to me. So I suspect that the defect in the CFTR allows plastics and petrochemicals generally, plus metals, to accumulate at higher than normal rates in the CF population. I have run this hypothesis past a guy with a PhD in Biology who suggested that it was not simply straight up crazy talk. He said the function of the CFTR should have some implication for how the body processes metals, IIRC. (He's a member of HN and is more than welcome to chime in for accuracy's sake if he happens to see this remark, realizes DoreenMichele used to post as Mz and I am talking about him -- hello, nice person with PhD in Biology, and thank you for the awesome feedback.) Our oceans are getting increasingly polluted with plastic and we increasingly see, for example, dead whales on beaches who are full of plastic and these two things are deemed not unrelated, from what I gather. So it seems that there comes a point past which "normal" humans with a normal CFTR who do not have CF may be unable to avoid similar bioaccumulation of plastics/petrochemicals and other toxic chemicals as I am hypothesizing drive some deadly infections in the CF population. So, perhaps we can extrapolate from the experiences of the CF community that as our world gets increasingly toxic, it will negatively impact human health generally, including, but not limited to, making us more prone to infection from microogranisms that were never a problem before. Arguably, this is probably already happening and may be contributing to the rise of Super Bugs. It may not be merely overuse of antibiotics causing this problem. It may also be widespread environmental changes, including but not limited to the increasing prevalence of microplastics across the entire world.
- rvp-x 7y ago
  The life expectancy of people with cystic fibrosis in the west doubled in the last 40 years. Using them as a marker things are getting worse sounds questionable.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I'm not using them as a marker for things getting worse. That wasn't my point at all.
- TheAdamAndChe 7y ago
  When people have chronic illnesses, they often times become immunocompromised, meaning their immune system weakens so much, microorganisms that are normally harmless get the opportunity to infect the host. That's why you see odd microorganisms. Just because you see microorganisms in people that are also in petrochemical spills does not mean they are consuming petrochemicals within us. Many organisms have multiple metabolic pathways, meaning they can break different things down to get the energy they need. Heck, so many typically aerobic microbes don't even need oxygen all the time, producing lactic acid or alcohol instead. I understand your concern for the unknown, but be careful about spreading information when you aren't yourself informed or sure of what you are saying.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I'm an environmental studies major who has a diagnosis of atypical cystic fibrosis. Avoiding petrochemicals has been beneficial to me. I think I am informed and sure of what I am saying. I think I adequately qualified the statement to make sure it doesn't constitute misinformation.
    - lordlimecat 7y ago
      As a science major you should be well acquainted with the dangers of anecdotal evidence. Making claims about cystic fibrosis on the basis of what is "beneficial for you" is bad science. Even with the qualifying your statement, you're implying causalities that you can't possibly justify.

by shawnz 7y ago

> and possibly could get into cells like asbestos To be clear, there is no current evidence that microplastics might share any mechanisms with asbestos/CNTs/etc, right?

DoreenMichele 7y ago

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I do know that people with cystic fibrosis have a bad habit of dying of infections from microorganisms that are usually not deemed infectious for most humans. When you google the names of the microorganisms in question, some of them are used by scientists for bioremediation of petrochemical spills. In other words, they eat petrochemicals. They also think people with CF are tasty as hell while not much caring for "normal" humans, which looks rather suspect to me. So I suspect that the defect in the CFTR allows plastics and petrochemicals generally, plus metals, to accumulate at higher than normal rates in the CF population. I have run this hypothesis past a guy with a PhD in Biology who suggested that it was not simply straight up crazy talk. He said the function of the CFTR should have some implication for how the body processes metals, IIRC. (He's a member of HN and is more than welcome to chime in for accuracy's sake if he happens to see this remark, realizes DoreenMichele used to post as Mz and I am talking about him -- hello, nice person with PhD in Biology, and thank you for the awesome feedback.) Our oceans are getting increasingly polluted with plastic and we increasingly see, for example, dead whales on beaches who are full of plastic and these two things are deemed not unrelated, from what I gather. So it seems that there comes a point past which "normal" humans with a normal CFTR who do not have CF may be unable to avoid similar bioaccumulation of plastics/petrochemicals and other toxic chemicals as I am hypothesizing drive some deadly infections in the CF population. So, perhaps we can extrapolate from the experiences of the CF community that as our world gets increasingly toxic, it will negatively impact human health generally, including, but not limited to, making us more prone to infection from microogranisms that were never a problem before. Arguably, this is probably already happening and may be contributing to the rise of Super Bugs. It may not be merely overuse of antibiotics causing this problem. It may also be widespread environmental changes, including but not limited to the increasing prevalence of microplastics across the entire world.

rvp-x 7y ago
The life expectancy of people with cystic fibrosis in the west doubled in the last 40 years. Using them as a marker things are getting worse sounds questionable.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I'm not using them as a marker for things getting worse. That wasn't my point at all.
TheAdamAndChe 7y ago
When people have chronic illnesses, they often times become immunocompromised, meaning their immune system weakens so much, microorganisms that are normally harmless get the opportunity to infect the host. That's why you see odd microorganisms. Just because you see microorganisms in people that are also in petrochemical spills does not mean they are consuming petrochemicals within us. Many organisms have multiple metabolic pathways, meaning they can break different things down to get the energy they need. Heck, so many typically aerobic microbes don't even need oxygen all the time, producing lactic acid or alcohol instead. I understand your concern for the unknown, but be careful about spreading information when you aren't yourself informed or sure of what you are saying.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I'm an environmental studies major who has a diagnosis of atypical cystic fibrosis. Avoiding petrochemicals has been beneficial to me. I think I am informed and sure of what I am saying. I think I adequately qualified the statement to make sure it doesn't constitute misinformation.
  - lordlimecat 7y ago
    As a science major you should be well acquainted with the dangers of anecdotal evidence. Making claims about cystic fibrosis on the basis of what is "beneficial for you" is bad science. Even with the qualifying your statement, you're implying causalities that you can't possibly justify.