plastic packaging

Emerging link between nanoplastics and neurodegenerative diseases, scientists find

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Researchers from Duke University, US, have identified emerging evidence linking nanoplastics to pathways implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and dementia.  The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, reveals that certain types of nanoplastics, such as PE and PS, can strongly interact with a protein called α-synuclein. This interaction causes conformational changes to … Read more

‘A relatively new discovered … hazard’

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A new study strongly suggests that microplastics, found in plastic bottles and other everyday items, are linked to pancreatic damage. What’s happening? The research, published in the BMC Genomics journal, showed that small particles of polyethylene terephthalate plastic, or PET, had damaging effects on pigs’ pancreatic cells. Researchers from Poland and Spain used pigs because … Read more

In a world filled with plastics, study says plastics can be deadly. Now what?

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The world has a plastic problem and it seems to be getting worse. A study released in late April found that chemicals in plastics were potentially associated with as many as 350,000 heart disease deaths globally in 2018. Evidence is also accumulating that the microplastic bits now found everywhere in our environment – from Antarctica … Read more