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We will need to find methods of removing micro and nanoplastics from our bodies. We are already ingesting them from multiple sources. There is already research
by tomalaci 3y ago
We will need to find methods of removing micro and nanoplastics from our bodies. We are already ingesting them from multiple sources. There is already research about bad effects on male sperm quality [1], DNA damage [2] and more. By the time we clean up this stuff (if ever) in our products and services humanity will already have large concentrations of plastics in them.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7967748/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7967748/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7936647/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7936647/
- peteradio 3y agoWhat method could possibly exist that would remove threads of plastic embedded in tissue? Sounds incredibly invasive no matter what i.e a no-go. Don't plan for this stuff to somehow magically remove itself, plan on ingesting small enough amounts in your lifetime to render it a non-issue. If modern life is making that impossible then demand a better modern existence. If that's not possible to make society change for the better (I have my doubts) then accept your fate nobody said life would be fair, perhaps take up religion.
- swores 3y agoIt's hard to say what methods will work, but it's not hard to imagine possibilities - a bacteria or virus (or even a nanobot someday?!) could be discovered / created that eats plastic but does no harm to a human body (or minimal harm that doesn't matter and can easily be removed/killed once it's got all the plastic) - see for example [1] & [2] different types of recently found plastic-eating bacteria for inspiration (the two bacteria types were found to eat different specific types of plastic, I'm not sure if they've tested each on all types of plastic or just published the first known). Or maybe we discover some sort of light/sound/other wave/something that, like an x-ray, has low enough health risks to be worth sometimes putting through humans, but that somehow does something to plastic that will let the body dispose of it all? Or maybe some drug gets created that somehow turns on some bodily function that can handle the plastic problem. Or.... I don't know, I'm no expert, but I bet there's more possibilities. Of course, would be good to do our best to reduce plastic use altogether anyway, for environmental as well as health reasons! [1] https://interestingengineering.com/science/bacteria-really-can-eat-plastic https://interestingengineering.com/science/bacteria-really-c... [2] https://www.livescience.com/plastic-eating-bacteria https://www.livescience.com/plastic-eating-bacteria
- kortex 3y agoEngineered antibodies or possibly mRNA vaccine, maybe. Monoclonal antibodies would likely be too expensive for use as a purely ameliorative measure. But if we figure out how to fold proteins on demand, then we can express a sequence and make it like other biologics. That's still a very expensive proposition, but at least it would have economies of scale. Avoidance is the best medicine for sure.
- eurasiantiger 3y agoRemember, Morgellon’s is a fictitious disease.
- donny2018 3y agoI’m not a biologist, but AFAIK just stopping new plastics inflow should be enough. The body continuously produces new cells to renew itself, including blood cells and what not, and this new material is plasticless. Don’t take new plastic, and in a few years you should be good.
- dmbche 3y agoThe problem is that the plastic is not removed. Kind of the same thing as people having shrapnel or bullets lodged in them for life - while your cells regenerate, the object remains and still interacts with you.
- donny2018 3y agoShrapnel or bullets are large objects and obviously the body can’t get rid of them. Nanoplastic circulates in the bloodstream which is continuously refreshed, or sits somewhere in the cells which are continuously disposed of. Some toxins or heavy metals can accumulate in bones, but I’m not sure if plastic can do that.
- jjtheblunt 3y ago> What method could possibly exist that would remove threads of plastic embedded in tissue? macrophages breaking their bonds? (I'm not sure...that's a question)
- anaganisk 3y agoBut will the shareholders be happy with all the stuff that needs to be done.
- ditn 3y agoRegularly donating blood or plasma can reduce PFAS concentrations in the body, I believe the effect is the same on microplastics https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-donations-can-reduce-the-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-our-bodies-178771 https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plas...
- croes 3y agoYou mean bloodletting, because you can't use the blood for others.
- daveguy 3y agoI don't think anyone would mind taking on some pfas or microplastics from a donor if they're about to bleed out. There are always priorities.
- carlmr 3y agoEspecially since we all have PFAS and microplastics in us at this point. There is no PFAS- and microplastics-free blood.
- burke 3y agoIf all donated blood was screened for trace microplastics, I think we’d have an immediate and total donor blood shortage.
- ekanes 3y agoSuper interesting. But is the blood then cleaned of them, or is this kind of like giving your plastics to someone else? :/
- erikpukinskis 3y agoIf I was in a need of a blood transfusion I think I’m OK with there being a normal amount of nanoplastics in them.
- lordnacho 3y agoIs this going to end up with a mega lawsuit?
- mock-possum 3y agoI mean look at lead.
- DANmode 3y agoIf knowledge intent is found. Probably not.