Wei Min

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Microplastics generate cell-damaging reactive molecules, study finds

Active researcher, leading follow-up work on biological effects

Microplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, and brain tissue, and studies link them to strokes, heart attacks, and dementia. Nobody could explain how a chemically inert material causes that damage. A new Nature study offers a mechanism: at the surface where microplastics meet water, reactive oxygen species form spontaneously, molecules that can modify and damage proteins and cells.

Updated Yesterday

Notable Quotes

As plastic fragments into smaller and smaller particles, its surface area increases enormously. Then microplastics change the water that surrounds them, generating high-energy, reactive radicals that very likely contribute to biological damage that we see in animals and potentially in humans.

from Microplastics generate cell-damaging reactive molecules, study finds · Updated Yesterday

Water is a key active player here, rather than just a spectator.

from Microplastics generate cell-damaging reactive molecules, study finds · Updated Yesterday