23 votes

UNM researchers find microplastics in canine and human testicular tissue

12 comments

  1. [5]
    C-Cab
    Link
    Some comments I wanted to pull from the article for discussion: It's a sample of 47 dogs and 23 humans, but it's pretty wild to see plastics present in every case due to chance alone. We've been...

    Some comments I wanted to pull from the article for discussion:

    “Our study revealed the presence of microplastics in all human and canine testes,” Yu said.
    ...
    “At the beginning, I doubted whether microplastics could penetrate the reproductive system,” Yu said. “When I first received the results for dogs I was surprised. I was even more surprised when I received the results for humans.”
    ...
    The team was able to count the sperm in the canine samples (but not in the human ones, which had been chemically preserved) and found that higher levels of PVC in the tissue correlated with a lower sperm count, Yu said. There was no correlation with tissue concentration of PE, however.
    “The plastic makes a difference – what type of plastic might be correlated with potential function,” he said. “PVC can release a lot of chemicals that interfere with spermatogenesis and it contains chemicals that cause endocrine disruption.”

    It's a sample of 47 dogs and 23 humans, but it's pretty wild to see plastics present in every case due to chance alone. We've been talking about plastic pollution and endocrine disrupters for a long time, but it seems like we've only made very small steps. In addition to people opting out of reproduction, we're potentially running into a double-whammy of fertility issues.

    Our current way of life for much of the world relies on plastics. While I think we might be better suited looking into alternative materials that integrate better with our biology and environment, it's not a solution that could be implemented in a rapid time-scale. I'm not a material scientist, and there's no doubt that we use specific plastics for certain physical properties, but maybe we should consider prioritizing the use of these less impactful plastics first while we invest research into these alternative materials.

    21 votes
    1. [3]
      TheWhetherMan
      Link Parent
      I remember reading headlines some years ago in attempting to study the effects of microplastics on humans, but the research never started because they couldn't find a single person to use as a...

      I remember reading headlines some years ago in attempting to study the effects of microplastics on humans, but the research never started because they couldn't find a single person to use as a control; everyone had some form of exposure to it in their system. If it can enter the body, I don't see why it wouldn't be able to enter the reproductive system

      15 votes
      1. [2]
        C-Cab
        Link Parent
        We do have certain barriers throughout the body whose goal is to isolate organs important to fitness, such as our brain and reproductive systems. You can think of it like a progressive sieve - we...

        We do have certain barriers throughout the body whose goal is to isolate organs important to fitness, such as our brain and reproductive systems. You can think of it like a progressive sieve - we start with very large filtering in the gut and intestines and it slowly gets broken down there, so it's not completely unfounded to think that certain tissues may not have any microplastics. But, it seems like the microplastics are small enough to pass through these filters. They've even seen plastics in the brains of mice, so there is a definite causative link there.

        On the plus side, maybe we'll induce some rapid evolution for organisms that can weather a certain amount of plastics.

        5 votes
        1. arch
          Link Parent
          I think our most likely (and hopefully most beneficial) scenario is that we are waiting on the evolution of an organism, most likely a bacteria, that can digest plastics and rapidly break them...

          On the plus side, maybe we'll induce some rapid evolution for organisms that can weather a certain amount of plastics.

          I think our most likely (and hopefully most beneficial) scenario is that we are waiting on the evolution of an organism, most likely a bacteria, that can digest plastics and rapidly break them down into more benign substances. Sort of like a gray goo scenario but only for plastics. I'm not really sure what it would mean if our digestive tract started to be populated by plastic eating microbes. Or the potential scenario where implanted medical devices started rapidly breaking down inside the body. Or PEX water piping started being eaten. I doubt we could support the 10 billion humans we are headed for without functioning plastics.

          This is evolution we are talking about. It could happen in our lifetimes, it could happen millions of years from now, or it could never happen.

          5 votes
    2. Akir
      Link Parent
      I think humanity needs to take a long hard look at how our world works, because getting rid of plastics means making a lot of very meaningful changes that will affect our way of life. Plastic is...

      I think humanity needs to take a long hard look at how our world works, because getting rid of plastics means making a lot of very meaningful changes that will affect our way of life. Plastic is everywhere; it's to the point where it's background noise for most people. We don't even realize that it's in things like the linings of cans, the glue holding our books together, and so much more.

      Plastic has a place, but I think foodservice and food packaging in particular has a problem with it. Literally everything is wrapped in plastic, even if it doesn't make any sense for it to be. Even in the produce department of grocery stores, I am seeing everything being put in plastic bags. And the crazy thing is that for the most part, it doesn't need to be. But the fact of the matter is that people are addicted to the convenience, even when it has proven ecological consequences. We can't be arsed to use reusable containers. If we could get out of that mindset, we wouldn't need to worry about alternative materials, because we already understand how to make and use glass and metal containers.

      12 votes
  2. [7]
    Fiachra
    Link
    The question my mind jumps to is, if this turns out to be a serious health concern, is there any good mitigation we could do to prevent/reduce it? Seems hard to just filter microplastic out of...

    The question my mind jumps to is, if this turns out to be a serious health concern, is there any good mitigation we could do to prevent/reduce it? Seems hard to just filter microplastic out of everything you consume. I'm guessing we would avoid certain foods that act as bioaccumulators for plastic, but beyond that I dunno. Maybe we need that lab-grown bacteria that eats plastic.

    6 votes
    1. RobotOverlord525
      Link Parent
      Consumer Reports had an article talking about what you can do about it. Count Down by Dr Shanna Swan (reviewed here), professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, has a...

      Consumer Reports had an article talking about what you can do about it.

      Count Down by Dr Shanna Swan (reviewed here), professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, has a bunch of steps at the end of it for what you can do to limit your exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs).

      It's a lot of work and I honestly don't know how effective it will be for the average Western consumer. But my wife and I have taken some steps to try to limit our exposure to EDCs.

      What we really need is for regulators to take this more seriously. I've contacted my congressional representatives and I don't feel like I really got anywhere with it. But I suppose I should probably bug them again.

      6 votes
    2. pete_the_paper_boat
      Link Parent
      We have these, we didn't need a lab, they just started appearing, much like the habitats that plastic soup have created, like certain fish blending in with the bright colors of plastics. I...

      Maybe we need that lab-grown bacteria that eats plastic.

      We have these, we didn't need a lab, they just started appearing, much like the habitats that plastic soup have created, like certain fish blending in with the bright colors of plastics.

      I personally find it fascinating how quickly life has adapted to it. Perhaps slowly so will we? Maybe one day our gut microbiome gets a new visitor?

      I don't think we should mindlessly keep going however, we're not working at a reasonable time scale for that.

      5 votes
    3. [3]
      C-Cab
      Link Parent
      From what I understand, it's not cheap removing plastics from the water, but it definitely seems like leaving them in is going to cause much larger problems down the line. I think the best thing...

      From what I understand, it's not cheap removing plastics from the water, but it definitely seems like leaving them in is going to cause much larger problems down the line. I think the best thing to do, as I mentioned in my comment, is to reduce our use of them while figuring out ways to convert them into something less harmful, such as through your suggestion of bacteria. I don't think this will do a lot to help the current generation of people - as far as I'm aware we're stuck with the plastics we get. But, we could reduce the burden on the future this way.

      4 votes
      1. Oslypsis
        Link Parent
        I don't want to be a negative nancy, but i have a feeling that whatever is the cheapest way to handle the public's concerns is the way the government will handle it.

        I don't want to be a negative nancy, but i have a feeling that whatever is the cheapest way to handle the public's concerns is the way the government will handle it.

        4 votes
      2. arch
        Link Parent
        On the plus side for this current generation, I think future generations are going to bear the brunt of the health concerns regarding microplastics. The pieces are going to get smaller and...

        On the plus side for this current generation, I think future generations are going to bear the brunt of the health concerns regarding microplastics. The pieces are going to get smaller and smaller, and accumulate more and more over decades. Right now we have a relatively small amount in our bodies, and likely in every glass of water we drink. But in 30 years without additional water treatment, each glass we drink it likely to have more and more in it.

        I would argue that a good starting point would be adequate testing and filtration requirements for both public water supplies and waste water treatment facilities. This would likely do a huge amount to reduce the amount of microplastics that we consume, as well as prevent it from running into our oceans, and rivers where the majority of waste water is sent.

        I'm also curious if any additional testing on PEX water pipes in homes should be done to see if they are leaching anything. If they eventually need abatement the way we did with lead and asbestos, it is going to take decades to accomplish, so the sooner we know either way, the better.

        1 vote
    4. TheWhetherMan
      Link Parent
      From my understanding, it's a fairly large development front at the moment. One of the more promising breakthroughs I've seen involves using an oil-based ferrofluid to cling to the microplastics...

      From my understanding, it's a fairly large development front at the moment. One of the more promising breakthroughs I've seen involves using an oil-based ferrofluid to cling to the microplastics seen in water supplies, and removing them using a magnet. Still a lot of research that needs to be completed on this particular method, but it's stood out to me as the simplest and cheapest method at the moment

      2 votes