5 ms·

Can microplastics be ruled out? I ask because they are known to massively damage the stomach linings of some birds.

noobermin 4y ago
Given the rising rates of cancer in the young across multiple sites, microplastics feel like the most likely culprit from people who are non-experts given it is the thing that has become more prominent in the last few decades. I have no idea though if it can be ruled out or not.
- lm28469 4y ago
  > has become more prominent in the last few decades. malnutrition too: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/-/media/Images/Health-Information/Weight-Management/Graph-8-revised.jpg https://www.niddk.nih.gov/-/media/Images/Health-Information/...
  - pantojax45 4y ago
    Graph comes from obesity statistics here - https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statisti... (Aside it’s confusing to post a graph that doesn’t have a title without context)
refurb 4y ago
Whats the biological mechanism for plastic causing cancer?
- pvaldes 4y ago
  Some chemicals could act as fake hormones or mimicking grow factors, for example
  - refurb 4y ago
    Most plastics are just polypropylene or polystyrene. It's just long chains of hydrocarbons and is inert. Plastics sometimes have plasticizers added, but if you're talking about microplastics, the amount of those chemicals in a microscopic piece of plastic is negligible.
    - pvaldes 4y ago
      > Most plastics are [safe] Then the problem should be in the rest.
    - more_corn 4y ago
      Plasticizers act as endocrine disruptors and are active at levels comparable to hormones. Namely extremely low quantities. An analogy is to compare the voltage levels of our electric grid to the voltage levels of our communication systems. It’s possible to really screw up communication by inserting tiny bits of voltage into the wrong parts of the system. Small is not always negligible.
      - refurb 4y ago
        Doses of hormones are in the milligram range to have a biological effect. Please explain how a 50 microgram piece of microplastic contains enough endocrine disruptor to have a biological effect?
        pvaldes 4y ago
        > Doses of hormones are in the milligram range to have a biological effect. Not even close. This is grossly overstated unless you talk about the full amount in the organism, that is an useless measure. Hormones act locally and trigger profound irreversible consequences in really tiny doses > Please explain me how a 50 microgram piece of plastic contains enough endocrine disruptor to have a biological effect? Adding its effects to the rest of the microplastics. A handbook of Endocrinology will explain it much better, with tables, graphs and images.

Given the rising rates of cancer in the young across multiple sites, microplastics feel like the most likely culprit from people who are non-experts given it is the thing that has become more prominent in the last few decades. I have no idea though if it can be ruled out or not.

lm28469 4y ago
> has become more prominent in the last few decades. malnutrition too: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/-/media/Images/Health-Information/Weight-Management/Graph-8-revised.jpg https://www.niddk.nih.gov/-/media/Images/Health-Information/...
- pantojax45 4y ago
  Graph comes from obesity statistics here - https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statisti... (Aside it’s confusing to post a graph that doesn’t have a title without context)

refurb 4y ago

Whats the biological mechanism for plastic causing cancer?

pvaldes 4y ago
Some chemicals could act as fake hormones or mimicking grow factors, for example
- refurb 4y ago
  Most plastics are just polypropylene or polystyrene. It's just long chains of hydrocarbons and is inert. Plastics sometimes have plasticizers added, but if you're talking about microplastics, the amount of those chemicals in a microscopic piece of plastic is negligible.
  - pvaldes 4y ago
    > Most plastics are [safe] Then the problem should be in the rest.
  - more_corn 4y ago
    Plasticizers act as endocrine disruptors and are active at levels comparable to hormones. Namely extremely low quantities. An analogy is to compare the voltage levels of our electric grid to the voltage levels of our communication systems. It’s possible to really screw up communication by inserting tiny bits of voltage into the wrong parts of the system. Small is not always negligible.
    - refurb 4y ago
      Doses of hormones are in the milligram range to have a biological effect. Please explain how a 50 microgram piece of microplastic contains enough endocrine disruptor to have a biological effect?
      - pvaldes 4y ago
        > Doses of hormones are in the milligram range to have a biological effect. Not even close. This is grossly overstated unless you talk about the full amount in the organism, that is an useless measure. Hormones act locally and trigger profound irreversible consequences in really tiny doses > Please explain me how a 50 microgram piece of plastic contains enough endocrine disruptor to have a biological effect? Adding its effects to the rest of the microplastics. A handbook of Endocrinology will explain it much better, with tables, graphs and images.