Tiny plastic particles are found just about everywhere: in the ocean, in the soil, in every ecosystem on the planet, in animals, and plants. They’re in human bodies, too, with a recent—and unnerving—study indicating that our brains may contain up to a spoon’s worth of tiny plastic shards.
Now, scientists, including some at Colby, are trying to determine if mothers can transfer microplastics to their babies while still in the womb. They’re also looking at the health implications of that and the original sources of the plastic contamination.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Greg Drozd and some of his students are working with scientists at the Shaw Institute in Blue Hill and at NYU Langone Health, one of the largest health systems in the Northeast, to seek answers to these questions. Read more here.
