Thread by @AvrilGreenaway

You are what you eat ~ We eat microplastics everyday.

Microplastics (5mm to 1 micron in size) & nanoplastics (less than 1 micron) are discoverable in human organs & research is in progress to discover how microplastics and nanoplastics affect our health. #CleanerSeas thread👇🏼

“It would be naive to believe there is plastic everywhere but just not in us. We are now providing a research platform that will allow us & others to look for what is invisible - these particles too small for the naked eye to see… cont. 👇🏼

The risk [to health] really resides in the small particles.” Rolf Haldon, Arizona State University.

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In a study published in 2021 in the Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences, USA, researchers exposed cells in a laboratory setting to microplastics ranging in size from 1-10 microns.

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They found that the pieces of microplastic could attach to the lipid membrane of the cell and cause the membrane to stretch. This could potentially lead to health problems.

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“Surprisingly however, we observe that the membranes of artificial cells and red blood cells stretch in the presence of microplastics” Jean-Baptiste Fleury.

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We need better waste systems and the emphasis must be on Governments and manufacturers to make the necessary changes to systems.

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Meanwhile by reducing our consumption collectively will have a positive effect on both plastic pollution and our climate crisis.
#CleanerSeas #Microplastics #Nanoplastics #microfibres @cleanerseasproject @cleanerseasgroup

🌎💙🐋👨🏾‍🤝‍👨🏼👩🏿‍🤝‍👩🏼👨🏾‍🤝‍👨🏽 ⭕️