Microplastics – News and Features

Engineered yeast-containing hydrogel capsules could be used to remove lead from contaminated water rapidly and inexpensively. The work could be especially useful in low-income areas with high lead contamination.

Water represents a means to hydrate, wash, cook, clean and even to dispose of waste, but these activities are not without consequences. This article will discuss current areas of concern in water quality analysis and highlight some of the key techniques in detection and remediation efforts.

Microscale robots that mimic natural swarms, like schools of fish, have been designed to capture microplastics and bacteria from water.

With recent studies having established the presence of nano and microplastic particles in the respiratory system, a new study has modelled what happens when people breathe in different kinds of plastic particles and where they end up.

Study finds the contraction of embryonic cells is the force behind the initial shaping of human embryos. These findings could help further refine assisted reproductive technology.

What if there was plastic-like material that could absorb excess nutrients from water and be used as a fertilizer when it decomposes?

Exploring the latest scientific research on microplastics, their environmental impact and novel remediation strategies.

Scientists have developed a new 3D hydrogel material that can adsorb – and degrade – large volumes of microplastic.

University of New Mexico researchers found that those tiny particles – microplastics – are having a significant impact on our digestive pathways, making their way from the gut and into the tissues of the kidney, liver and brain.

Retention ponds and wetlands constructed as part of major road schemes can reduce the quantities of tyre particles entering the aquatic environment by an average of 75%, new research has shown.