https://www.futurity.org/nanoscale-plastics-pregnancy-embryos-2881602
"Nanoscale plastic particles, such as those that permeate most food and water,
pass from pregnant rats to their unborn offspring and may impair fetal
development, according to a new study.
“Much remains unknown, but this is certainly cause for concern and follow-up
study,” says Philip Demokritou, professor in nanoscience and environmental
bioengineering at Rutgers University School of Public Health.
Erosion chips microscopic particles off the billions of tons of plastics that
are exposed to the elements in the environment. These particles mix with the
food we eat and the air we breathe. A typical person ingests a credit card’s
worth of them every week, Demokritou says.
Previous studies in pregnant laboratory animals have found adding these
plastics to food impairs their offspring in numerous ways, but those studies
didn’t determine whether mothers passed the plastics to their children in
utero.
For the study, published in the journal
Nanomaterials, researchers provided
specially marked nanoscale plastics to five pregnant rats. Subsequent imaging
found that these nanoplastic particles permeated not only their placentas but
also the livers, kidneys, hearts, lungs, and brains of their offspring.
These findings demonstrate that ingested nanoscale polystyrene plastics can
breach the intestinal barrier of pregnant mammals, the maternal-fetal barrier
of the placenta, and all fetal tissues. Future studies will investigate how
different types of plastics cross cell barriers, how plastic particle size
affects the process, and how plastics harm fetal development, the researchers
say."
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
