The particles are in our blood, brains and guts – and scientists are only beginning to learn what they do Microplastics have been found almost everywhere: in blood, placentas, lungs – even the human brain. One study estimated our cerebral organs alone may contain 5g of the stuff, or roughly a teaspoon. If true, plastic isn’t just wrapped around our food or woven into our clothes: it is lodged deep inside us. Now, researchers suspect these particles may also be meddling with our gut microbes. When Dr Christian Pacher-Deutsch at the University of Graz in Austria exposed gut bacteria from five healthy volunteers to five common microplastics, the bacterial populations shifted – along with the chemicals they produced. Some of these changes mirrored patterns linked to depression and colorectal cancer. Continue reading...

The sound of traffic is not only linked to increased stress and anxiety, researchers found, it also muddies the mental health benefits of nature noise.

Pivoting to the right didn't work in 2024. It won't work now.