Thursday briefing: Is your body really full of microplastics?
Good morning. Microplastics are everywhere. They have been found at the top of Mount Everest and in the deepest ocean trenches. They are in our food, our water and the air we breathe. For a while, research suggested they were inside us too. Studies reported microplastics in our cells, brains, placentas and testicles. But that picture may be wrong. In what some scientists are describing as a “bombshell”, leading researchers have cast doubt on many of the most high-profile studies claiming large amounts of microplastics in the human body. They say the findings may instead be false positives. So what do we actually know about microplastics in the human body, and how worried should we be? To find out, I spoke to Damian Carrington, the Guardian’s environment editor, who broke this extraordinary story. That’s after the headlines. Five big stories Iran | Donald Trump has said he has been assured the killing of protesters in Iran has been halted, adding that he would “watch it and see” about threatened US military action, as tensions appeared to ease on Wednesday night. Greenland | Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the US needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that “something will work out” with respect to the future governance of the Danish overseas territory. UK news | Three Palestine Action-affiliated prisoners have announced the end of their hunger strike after the government decided not to award a £2bn contract to the Israeli arms company subsidiary Elbit Systems UK – with another four who had paused their protest choosing not to continue. Digital ID | The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has insisted that she is “pretty relaxed” about what form of digital ID people use to prove their right to work in the UK, amid criticism of the government’s latest U-turn. Ukraine | Anti-corruption investigators have accused the former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of plotting to bribe MPs, including some from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party, in a bid to undermine him. In depth: ‘Some scientists likened microplastics study to a gold rush’
Recent research has reported worrying levels of microplastics in every part of our bodies. But what exactly are microplastics? Some are intentionally created and added to consumer products, such as the tiny beads found in face and body scrubs. Others form when larger plastic items such as disposable bottles and packaging break down. As microplastics spread across the world, fears about their health effects grew. Damian Carrington told me that many new researchers entered the field as interest surged. “Some scientists likened it to a gold rush because it’s an exciting and relevant new field that’s opened up in the last few years.” Damian, like many science and environment journalists, reported on what appeared to be groundbreaking discoveries, often published in prestigious journals. Then came a steady drip of criticism from researchers who were unconvinced. “At the start, I had one or two [contact me],” Damien says. “They’d get in touch and tell me they didn’t think this was any good. I’m not an expert or a scientist, so I can’t adjudicate anything.” But then, he began to see more and more criticism appearing in journals. “They really started to add up. It wasn’t just one or two voices any more; it was a consistent pattern of researchers questioning the validity of these high-profile findings.” *** Why are microplastic levels so hard to measure? At the heart of the problem is scale. Microplastics are tiny, so it is extremely difficult to measure their levels in the human body. Levels of nanoplastics, which are thousands of times smaller, are even harder to analyse. Damian told me that the challenges are compounded by the fact that microplastics research is still a young field. “Analytical chemists have been analysing stuff for a long time in lots of areas like pollutants in water, and therefore have well-established guidelines, which have been tested and verified,” Damien says. “But microplastics is a brand new field in the last few years. They don’t have those kinds of standard practices to lean back upon. They’re having to develop them as they go along.” He explains that there is one technique, called pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry, that has received a lot of attention. In simple terms, the method “vaporises a sample”, and the resulting molecules are then sorted and measured. The problem with this technique is that it can pick up natural substances and mistake them for plastic. The reason for this, Damian explains, is that “the fragments produced by certain plastics are actually the same molecule fragments produced by fat, for example, in the body,” leading to potential contamination or confusion over the results. Take the recent paper that found rising levels of microplastics in the brain. A separate team of researchers later challenged the findings by pointing out that fat is known to produce false positive results for polyethylene, a type of plastic, which could suggest that obesity levels could be an alternative explanation for the findings reported in the study. Damien’s reporting found seven challenged studies, while a recent analysis cited 18 that may have confused human tissue signals with those of common plastics. *** Is the science improving? When Damien went to the original researchers with the criticism, he found that most were open about the need to continue collaborating to find better methodological methods. One researcher that Damien approached for comment quoted a line from the TV show Ted Lasso: “‘[Bioanalytical assays] are never going to be perfect. The best we can do is to keep asking for help and accepting it when you can and if you keep on doing that, you’ll always be moving toward better.’” Damian says that neatly captures how science works. “It’s an iterative process.” One encouraging takeaway, he says, is that many scientists are working intensely to improve analytical tools. “We expect things to improve pretty rapidly.” But does he worry that the plastics lobby will seize on the story to downplay the harm caused by plastics? “It’s certainly an issue, but I’m no friend of the plastic lobby,” Damien said. Last August, he wrote an excoriating piece on the plastics and petrochemical industries for undermining efforts to secure a UN plastics treaty. “But as a reporter, you have to follow the evidence as best you can and that’s what I’ve done.” *** How worried should we be? There was a huge reaction to Damien’s story, particularly on social media, with some commentators suggesting it proves there isn’t anything to worry about when it comes to microplastics. Damien says it is evident that those people haven’t read his article all the way through. “What is really clear is that microplastics are everywhere in the environment. We are consuming them and there are almost certainly microplastics in our body,” he says. “And that is unlikely to be a good thing. We don’t know how much or where very clearly.” He asked every researcher he interviewed, including critics of the contested studies, whether they take precautions. All said yes. “Some of them dust their house every now and again because microplastics can form from clothing and off carpets. Some of them don’t reheat food or drinks in plastic containers because that can also produce microplastics.” The message is not that microplastics are harmless, he says. It is that the extreme levels reported in some studies are probably wrong. Several scientists also warned about unregulated and unverified treatments, including clinics offering to cleanse blood of microplastics for £10,000. “There is no evidence that justifies that kind of approach.” While research into the health effects continues, the wider case against plastic remains strong. “The plastics industry from beginning to end is environmentally problematic because they come from fossil fuels, there are emissions involved in making the plastics, lots of plastics have chemicals in them, some of which are known to be harmful to human health,” Damien says. Efforts to tackle plastic pollution at a global level stalled last August amid heavy lobbying by plastics, petrochemical companies and petrostates. “They’ll come back and have another go, but it’s looking to be a bit of an uphill battle,” says Damian. What else we’ve been reading
Daniel Dylan Wray suggests it may be time to swing by your local charity shop to see if you can find a DVD of the seemingly forgotten gem that is Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights, which launched 25 years ago and has never hit streaming. Martin Belam, newsletters team While much of the attention has focused on how serious Donald Trump is about his threat to take Greenland by force, Miranda Bryant’s on-the-ground piece does a brilliant job examining the anguish he has ignited among the territory’s people. Aamna Miss Rosen speaks to Catherine E McKinley for Huck magazine about her curation of a new exhibition of the work of photographer Seydou Keïta, who chronicled the people of Mali from his Bamako studio during the mid-20th century. Martin Iran has been shrouded in darkness after a widespread internet blackout. Adeshola Ore’s piece movingly explores the horror of being in the diaspora, desperately trying to get information about your loved ones. Aamna My newsletter team colleague Poppy Noor claims to have “three left feet and a not-very-convincing shot on goal” in her locker as she embarks on a quest to improve her amateur football skills 15 years into playing. Martin Sport
Football | Robert Sánchez had a game to forget as Ben White, Viktor Gyökeres and Martín Zubimendi gave Arsenal a 3-2 lead in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. Football | Morocco advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations final on penalties, beating Nigeria 4-2 in the final shootout after their semi-final ended goalless after extra time. Tennis | A 29-year-old tennis coach from Sydney won the inaugural A$1m One Point Slam at the Australian Open after upstaging a field that included Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. The front pages
“Trump still intent on ‘conquering’ Greenland, says Danes after talks,” is the splash on the Guardian on Thursday. “World on the brink,” says the Mirror. “UK military prepare for American strike on Iran,” has the i. “Fan row police chief won’t quit,” is the lead story at Times, “4 million denied the right to vote,” at the Telegraph. “Reeves’ signal on extending pubs U-turn cheers hotels,” says the FT, while the Metro runs with: “One small step...to reception.” “Shameless,” says the Mail. “Let’s honour nation’s injured 999 heroes,” is the main story at the Express. Finally the Sun with “Cheryl stalker nicked again,” and the Star: “His royal sky-ness.” Today in Focus
What the Assads did next Pjotr Sauer, a Russian affairs reporter for the Guardian, talks to Annie Kelly about the exclusive Moscow neighbourhood to which the Assad family have relocated since their exile from Syria. Will Christou, a Beirut-based reporter, describes the means by which the Assads fled Syria during the uprising and the likelihood of the family facing justice. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
As an eight-year-old, Anthony Waddle once stood ankle-deep in water netting tadpoles, which he recalls as “one of the perfect moments in my childhood”. He did it because, as he puts it, “metamorphosis is the reason kids bring tadpoles home. They want to watch that change.” Now aged 35, the award-winning conservation biologist on a mission to save the species that fascinated him as a boy from the deadly chytrid fungus, which has wiped out 90 species and is threatening more than 500 more. In Australia, Waddle has built ingenious “frog saunas” that warm endangered species enough for them to resist the fungus. He is also vaccinating frogs and even trialling gene editing to save those beyond other means of help. Australian herpetologist and conservationist Dr Jodi Rowley calls Waddle’s work “a ray of hope in amphibian conservation – we need these really innovative and cutting-edge strategies to help turn things around.” Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Martin Belam’s Thursday news quiz Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
