Microplastics look like a 'car crash' in mice brains

Microplastics are everywhere, both across nature and inside our bodies. And while evidence shows these synthetic particulates aren't great for you, the medical community still isn't entirely sure how the plastic specifically affects health, as well as its influence on preexisting conditions like an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. For the first time, however, experts succeeded in visually tracking the movement of microplastics through brain blood vessels in mice--and the pile-ups resembled a microscopic "car crash." The findings, published in the journal Science Advances by a team at Beijing's Peking University, expand on existing research already showcasing microplastic's potential neurotoxicity. "Nanoscale plastics can breach the blood-brain barrier, [but] how [microplastics] cause brain functional irregularities remains unclear," wrote the study's authors.