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Friday, February 27, 2026

Microplastics found in 90% of prostate cancer tumours

By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL
February 25, 2026

Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, the report said - Copyright AFP/File Peter PARKS

Medical researchers from NYU Langone Health have detected microplastics in nearly all prostate cancer tumours examined in a new study. Tumour tissue contained about 2.5 times more plastic than nearby healthy prostate tissue. Scientists say this is the first Western study to directly measure plastic particles in prostate tumours.

Although more research is needed, the findings suggest microplastic exposure could play a role in cancer development.

The scientists set out to explore whether exposure to microplastics could contribute to the development of prostate cancer, which the American Cancer Society identifies as the most common cancer among men in the U.S.

The scientists further discovered that these microplastics were present at higher concentrations in cancerous tumours than in nearby noncancerous prostate tissue.
How Microplastics Enter the Human Body

Plastic materials used in food packaging, cosmetics, and many everyday products can break down into microscopic fragments when heated, worn down, or chemically processed. These particles can enter the body through food, breathing contaminated air, or contact with the skin.

Previous research has detected microplastics in nearly every organ, as well as in bodily fluids and even the placenta. Despite their widespread presence, scientists still do not fully understand how these particles may affect human health and the human microbiome.
Research Basis

To conduct the analysis, scientists first reviewed tumour and benign tissue samples under visual inspection. They then used specialised instruments to measure the quantity, chemical composition, and structure of microplastic particles. The team focused on 12 of the most common plastic molecules.

Because plastic is widely used in medical and laboratory equipment, researchers took extra precautions to prevent contamination. They replaced plastic tools with alternatives made from aluminium, cotton, and other non-plastic materials. All testing was performed in controlled clean rooms designed specifically for microplastic analysis.
Higher Plastic Levels in Cancerous Tissue

The researchers examined prostate tissue collected from 10 patients undergoing surgery to remove the gland. Plastic particles were identified in 90% of tumour samples and in 70% of benign prostate tissue samples.

The difference in concentration was notable. On average, tumour samples contained about 2.5 times more plastic than healthy tissue (about 40 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue compared with 16 micrograms per gram).

Hence, the study provides important evidence that microplastic exposure may be a risk factor for prostate cancer.

The researchers noted that earlier research had suggested possible links between microplastics and conditions such as heart disease and dementia, but there had been little direct evidence tying them specifically to prostate cancer.

The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. According to Loeb, this is the first Western study to measure microplastic levels in prostate tumours and compare them directly with levels in noncancerous prostate tissue.

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Are ‘microwave safe’ labels misleading? New report exposes health and environmental harms

By Angela Symons

Published on 25/02/2026 - EURONEWS

Microwave meals are convenient – but a new report reveals just how much they could be harming our health and the planet.

Microwave meals are a convenience that’s hard to resist on a busy day. But they could be quietly wreaking havoc on our health and environment, a new report warns.

The paper by Greenpeace International analyses 24 recent scientific studies on the hidden health risks of plastic-packaged ready meals.

It paints a grim picture: hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic particles leaching into our food along with hazardous chemicals that could have far-reaching health impacts.

“People think they’re making a harmless choice when they buy and heat a meal packaged in plastic,” says Graham Forbes, global plastics campaign lead from Greenpeace USA.

“In reality, we are being exposed to a cocktail of microplastics and hazardous chemicals that should never be in or near our food.”

And the contamination doesn't stop in our bodies. Plastic food trays and films pollute across their entire lifecycle – from fossil fuel extraction to energy-intensive manufacturing and eventual disposal.

When the time comes to throw these single-use plastics away, their multilayer materials make them tricky to recycle. As they break down into micro- and nanoplastics, these tiny fragments accumulate in soil, rivers and oceans, harming animals and re-entering our food system.

Even when they do make it into the circular economy, plastics degrade in quality and can re-release hazardous additives into new products.

Are plastic ready meals safe to heat and eat?

Convenience food items marked ‘microwave safe’ may be giving false reassurance to consumers, the report warns.

The label, the authors argue, generally refers to the structural stability of the container – not whether it releases microplastics or chemical additives into food.

One study found 326,000 to 534,000 micro- and nanoplastic particles leaching into food simulants after just five minutes of microwave heating. Nanoplastics are small enough to potentially enter organs and the bloodstream.

Plastics are also known to contain more than 4,200 hazardous chemicals. Most of these are not regulated in food packaging and some are linked to cancer, infertility, hormone disruption and metabolic disease, the report notes.

At least 1,396 food contact plastic chemicals have been detected in human bodies, with growing evidence linking exposure to neurodevelopmental disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes

Higher temperatures, longer heating times, worn containers and fatty foods – which absorb more chemicals – significantly increase the amount of plastic particles and additives that leach into meals, according to the report.

Regulatory guidance on microplastics released from food packaging is insufficient globally, the report states, adding that industry denial has contributed to regulatory delays.

In the European Union, for example, food contact plastics are regulated based on ‘migration limits’ for known chemical substances, based on advice from the European Food Safety Authority, but there are currently no specific thresholds for microplastic particles.

Plastic pollution is growing, fast

Global plastic production is set to more than double by 2050, and plastic packaging is a huge part of the picture. It currently accounts for 36 per cent of all plastics, analysis by the International Energy Agency shows.

Already worth over €160 billion, plastic-packaged ready meals are set to grow in value to almost €300 billion in 2034 as consumers continue to chase convenience, research by global consulting firm Towards FnB found.

In 2024, 71 million tonnes of ready meals were produced globally, averaging 12.6 kg per person, according to market research published by Statista.

Greenpeace argues that food-contact plastics should fall under stricter global controls in the forthcoming UN Global Plastics Treaty, including phase-outs of hazardous additives rather than relying on downstream recycling.

“The risk is clear, the stakes are high and the time to act is now,” says Forbes.

Wednesday, February 04, 2026

Warning of kidney cell damage from high exposure to nanoplastics

Flinders University

PhD student Hayden Gillings — image:
Flinders University researcher Hayden Gillings has studied the effects of nanoplastics on kidney cells.
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Credit: Flinders University

As concerns rise about the effects of tiny plastic particles on human health, Flinders University researchers have led new research on whether nanoplastics can accumulate or cause damage in kidneys – our body’s major blood filtering system.

Their study, published in high-ranking international journal Cell Biology and Toxicology, calls for more investigations into the long-term risks, warning that high nanoplastics (NPs) particle ‘burden’ could seriously compromise kidney cell health and function.

“The findings demonstrate that while lower concentrations of NPs (less than 1 micron or 0.001mm in diameter) may not result in immediate toxicity to the kidney cells, particularly in terms of short-term exposure, higher burdens can compromise overall cell health and function, causing changes to the cell shape, survival and cell regulation,” says first author Hayden Gillings, a PhD Candidate in Nanoplastics and Health at Flinders University.

“The results also indicate that the effects are influenced not only by concentration but also by polymer composition and particle size, with some combinations inducing significant cellular changes even at relatively low doses,” says Mr Gillings, from the College of Science and Engineering.

The laboratory study tested kidney cells with varying concentrations and sized NPs, sourced from commonly used polymers – polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) or ‘PMMA,’ and polyethylene (PE).

It was supported by medical scientists from Monash University as well as Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health.

The research team says sustained or repeated damage to regulatory kidney cells could impair kidney function, reduce filtration efficiency, clearance capacity, and lead to their potential buildup of NPs in kidney tissue over time.

With these plastics most commonly present all around in the environment, the study emphasises the need for further real-world long-term investigations into the effects of concentration, size, polymer types and chemical additives.

“Such studies should also explore biological outcomes, including potential DNA damage and long-term functional consequences, to fully assess the risks posed by environmental NPs to kidney health and systemic exposure,” adds Flinders University Associate Professor Melanie MacGregor, an ARC Future Fellow and Matthew Flinders Fellow in Chemistry.

Associate Professor MacGregor, who leads the Nano and Microplastics Research Consortium at Flinders University, says rising levels of plastic waste are breaking down in every part of Earth’s land, sea and air, leading to the proliferation of microplastic (pieces less than 5mm) and nanoplastic pollution posing a risk to all lifeforms.

“Millions of tonnes of microplastics can break down into even smaller nanoplastic particles and lead to chemical leakages,” she says.

“Tougher measures should be taken to reduce the release of chemicals and pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and micro- and nanoplastics to the environment, food chain and living organisms – both during production and after use.”

Kidney Health Australia says 2.7 million Australians, or about 1 in 7 Australians aged over 18 years old, are living with signs of kidney disease. Diabetes, hypertension and other conditions can reduce kidney function, leading to waste build-up in your body, and harmful impact on health.

The new article, ‘Nanoplastic toxicity and uptake in kidney cells: differential effects of concentration, particle size, and polymer type’ (2026), Hayden Louis Gillings, Darling M Rojas-Canales, Soon Wei Wong, Kaustubh R Bhuskute, Amandeep Kaur, Iliana Delcheva, Jonathan M Gleadle and Melanie MacGregor by has been published in Cell Biology and Toxicology (Cell) DOI: 10.1007/s10565-025-10135-2.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship Grant (FT200100301), Flinders Foundation and the Flinders Medical Centre Renal Research Fund.

Journal

Cell Biology and Toxicology

DOI

10.1007/s10565-025-10135-2

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

Nanoplastic toxicity and uptake in kidney cells: differential effects of concentration, particle size, and polymer type’

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Plastic pollution promotes hazardous water conditions, new study finds

Tests in aquatic ecosystem ponds revealed that bio-based plastics have a substantially smaller environmental footprint

University of California - San Diego

Experimental ponds — image:
A new UC San Diego study reveals that fossil fuel-based plastic pollution may be promoting toxic water conditions by removing animals that keep water at safe levels. Biologically based plastics had a much smaller impact.
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Credit: Scott Morton, Shurin Lab, UC San Diego

Dangerous concentrations of algae such as “red tides” have been consistently emerging in locations around the world. A region in Southern Australia is experiencing a nine-month toxic algae bloom that spans thousands of miles and has caused thousands of deaths across marine species. Such harmful algal blooms (HABs) produce toxins that can force municipalities to close beaches and lakes due to public health risks.

Excess amounts of nutrient input from land sources into aquatic environments, such as agricultural runoff and waste discharge, typically have been blamed as the source of harmful algae blooms. But data from a new study by University of California San Diego researchers reveals that petroleum-based plastic pollution may be amplifying these problems by removing the animals that keep algae in check.

Plastic pollution has been found in every area of the planet, from the recesses of the deep sea to Arctic sea ice. Broken down bits of microplastics have emerged as a serious health issue since they have been found in human blood and in vital organs such as the brain and lungs. In recent years, plastic developed from biodegradable materials have emerged as a safer alternative for human health and the environment.

Researchers in UC San Diego’s Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution (School of Biological Sciences) and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (School of Physical Sciences) conducted a three-month study comparing the environmental effects of conventional fossil fuel-based polyurethane plastic and recently developed biodegradable plastic. The biodegradable plastic included sustainable material developed in UC San Diego laboratories and sold by the university spinoff company Algenesis.

“We see all this plastic out there but how is it changing populations of algae, bacteria, seabirds or fish? We really don’t know,” said Biological Sciences Professor Jonathan Shurin, the senior author of the study, which appears in the new journal Communications Sustainability. “We know algae blooms are partly due to nutrient pollution, but this study is showing that some of the algae blooms that we see around the world may also be due in part to the effects of plastic on the animals that normally control algae.”

Researchers have documented how contaminated rivers flowing into the ocean can lead to a surge of excess nutrients. In such “bottom up” scenarios, excess chemicals can rapidly boost algae, which consume oxygen when they die and lead to aquatic “dead zones.”

In the new study, which compared different types of plastics across 30 experimental pond ecosystems, researchers found that fossil fuel plastics can lead to “top down” effects by killing off the animals that eat algae. The experiments showed that microplastics change communities of microbes, including organisms such as algae and bacteria.

Inside the tanks with fossil fuel plastic, researchers saw the numbers of zooplankton — tiny aquatic animals that consume algae and other species, and are a food source for fish and other animals — immediately plummet. Lacking zooplankton grazers, algae concentrations quickly spiked in these tanks. In contrast, tanks tested with biologically based plastics featured a much smaller impact on zooplankton and other members of the community ecosystem.

“The petroleum plastic seemed to have a strong negative effect on the zooplankton populations,” said Scott Morton, the first author of the study and a Biological Sciences graduate student. “They seemed to either die off or reduce their reproduction very quickly. Bioplastic didn’t have the same effect. That cascades down to the algae. In the petroleum tanks, fewer zooplankton consuming all that algae means you have more in the system and that leads to the algal blooms that we saw.”

The researchers also documented the emergence of distinct communities of bacteria growing in the presence of the plastic, but the cause is not yet clear.

“Our results indicate that microplastics may tip the balance of conditions in favor of algal blooms,” the authors conclude in their study. “These results collectively illustrate that microplastics, particularly petroleum-derived plastics, may destabilize microbial community structure and function.”

Although the ecological impacts of microplastics are only beginning to be studied, the authors note that transitioning to a biodegradable plastics economy would likely mitigate the environmental impact of plastics in aquatic ecosystems.

For the past decade, coauthor Professor Michael Burkart and his group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have been developing and commercializing bio-based plastics expressly designed to biodegrade in the natural environment, which can be incorporated into consumer products like surfboards, flip-flops and cell phone cases. “It is critical for us to understand how these new materials compare to traditional petroleum plastics when discarded in the environment,” said Burkart. “While all man-made objects have an impact on the planet, our goal is to minimize the ecological and health hazards of these now ubiquitous materials.”

The researchers are now further exploring their results by testing different types of biodegradable plastics, including “living plastic” filled with bacterial spores that break down the plastic material at the end of its life cycle.

The authors of the study were: Scott G. Morton, Gabriel Vucelic-Frick, Jonathan R. Dickey, Bhausaheb S. Rajput, Cody J. Spiegel, Dahlia A. Loomis, Sara L. Jackrel, Michael D. Burkart, Jonathan B. Shurin.

The research was supported by UC San Diego’s Pathways in Biological Sciences Training Program through a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32 GM133351) and the Department of Energy (DE-EE0009295).

Competing interest disclosure: Burkart is the founder and holds an equity position in Algenesis Materials, which seeks to commercialize renewable materials.

Among the organisms studied within the experimental tanks were small freshwater copepods (a type of zooplankton), which play key roles in the regulation of aquatic food webs.

Undergraduate volunteers Sophia Albee and Grant Gustin use a water probe to collect water quality data.

Credit

Scott Morton, Shurin Lab, UC San Diego