English → Arabic transcript

So the Trump administration says it's taking steps now to decrease the levels of microplastics in medicines and drinking water. Now a new study shows the impact those tiny particles could have on our bodies. Becky Worley got an inside look at the science behind it. When people talk about microplastics, you may think of little beads or tiny pieces we

might accidentally ingest and pass through our bodies. But... The plastics in your brain are higher in concentrations than what we would have expected for sure and higher than most other parts of the body. A team led by Dr. Matthew Campin at the University of New Mexico is exploring whether the biggest

problems may come when the tiniest of microplastic nanoparticles lodge in our brains and other organs. But how is that possible? Dr. Marcus Garcia shows me. The cloud of particles here?

Microplastics. So we actually use 100% ethanol and we run it through these smaller sieves to be able to isolate some of these materials. And you can see here at the bottom a lot of this microplastics here. So these are all less than one micron in size.

The team here looked at brain tissue from cadavers and found that the average brain could contain up to seven grams of these microplastics. That's roughly equal to the weight of a plastic spoon just in the brain. And you can see here at the bottom a lot of this microplastics here. So these are all less than one micron in size.

That really helps me to understand what these microplastics might look like inside the human brain. Exactly. These one micron particles are tiny. For context, a human hair is 70 microns wide.

Research has shown nanoplastics can cross the blood brain barrier and one of the startling discoveries from this study showed that in the brains of those who had dementia, there were significantly higher levels of microplastics, but they do say it's not clear if they play a role in causing the disease. In those dementia cases, there was that much more, I think five to eight times more plastic

in those individuals. We don't know whether that's because the plastics cause the disease or if the disease itself creates a welcoming environment that allows for the absorption of more plastics. In a separate study, researchers found microplastics in placentas, suggesting pre-birth exposure coming from the mother's bloodstream through the placenta in utero.

And they found that babies born preterm who face higher rates of complications had a higher concentration of microplastics in their blood, though it's not clear if the microplastics play a role in the outcomes. But the team here does say this research is kicking off projects on many fronts. To look at what are the relationships with cancer, what are the relationships with cardiovascular

disease, maternal fetal health. We are trying to best understand how these plastics might be influencing human health broadly. This has definitely influenced my behavior in part because I saw what those nanoparticles look like dissolved in liquid.

So let's talk about one focus for reducing micro and nanoplastics, getting water from plastic bottles. The issue is that if they're exposed to heat and UV from the sun, like being left outside on a pallet, the plastic can break down and enter the water. Same with disposable coffee cups lined with plastic and then exposed to super hot coffee.

If either of those are a part of your routine and this info worries you, cutting back on plastic bottles and disposable cups could make a big difference for you.