(Aug 31): Microplastics are everywhere. These small plastic particles — often smaller than the width of a human hair — have been found in the food we eat, the liquids we drink and throughout the human body, including in lungs, brains, blood and breast milk. 

While researchers are still determining the exact impacts on human health, microplastics (and their tinier variant, nanoplastics) pose a dual threat. The particles themselves can cause harm, as can the chemicals they contain. One recent study linked plastics in blood-vessel plaque to the risk of heart attack, stroke or death from any cause. Other research has found plastic exposure may increase the risk of cancer, Parkinson’s disease and male infertility.