Microplastics are invading our brain and bodies? New research says the claims in most studies are wrong and some are a “joke”

High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives.

Studies claiming to have revealed micro and nanoplastics in the brain, testes, placentas, arteries and elsewhere were reported by media across the world, including the Guardian

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“Levels of microplastics in human brains may be rapidly rising” was the shocking headline reporting a widely covered study in February. The analysis, published in a top-tier journal and covered by the Guardian, said there was a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in brain tissue ….

However, by November, the study had been challenged by a group of scientists with the publication of a “Matters arising” letter in the journal.

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One of the team behind the letter was blunt. “The brain microplastic paper is a joke,” said Dr Dušan Materić …. “Fat is known to make false-positives for polyethylene. The brain has [approximately] 60% fat.” …

He thinks there are serious doubts over “more than half of the very high impact papers” reporting microplastics in biological tissue.

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