Tiny magnetic robots can help remove some of the smallest plastic particles from polluted water. Most plastics eventually end up as tiny fragments that then hide in our environment, food and drinking water. There is no consensus on the health implications of ingesting plastic yet, but early research suggests that plastic particles can enter organs within the body and that this process gets easier as the particles get smaller.

Tiny plastic particles that can cause cancer are emitted by 3D printers -- with such being the most toxic to children under the age of nine, experts have warned. The printers work be depositing successive layers of thermoplastics, metals, nanomaterials, polymers, slowly building up a complete object. The global 3D printing market was worth an estimated £8.71 billion last year -- a figure increasing as more people purchase printers for their own homes. Researchers from the US, however, have found that the devices pose an unexpected health risk -- in addition to their known contribution to plastic pollution. During the hours it can take to complete a print, various particulates and chemical by-products can be released into the surrounding environment.