Your brain tissue is 50% more plastic than in 2016

Tired of all the dire political news? How about some dire medical news instead — scientists just discovered your brain is a landfill for tiny plastic particles — with concentrations up to 30 times higher than other organs.

A cheery new study in Nature Medicine reports that researchers examined brain, liver, and kidney tissue from deceased donors and found microscopic plastic fragments everywhere — but especially in the brain. Our brains appear to be soaking them up like tiny toxic sponges. Most were nanoscale shards of polyethylene, the same plastic used in those "Please Kill Me I'm A Sea Turtle" bags from your local grocery store. Even more delightful? Brain samples from 2024 contained about 50% more plastic than samples from 2016. Progress!

"We're seeing exponentially increasing environmental concentrations of these particles," says lead researcher Matthew Campen, who's probably rethinking his reusable water bottle collection right about now. The study found particularly high concentrations in people with dementia, though researchers stress it's too early to know if there's a causal link. (Though "my brain is literally full of plastic" seems like a pretty solid explanation for why you tried to microwave your wallet.)

The plastic particles are incredibly tiny — most were 100-200 nanometers long, or about 500 times thinner than a human hair. But they're everywhere, like glitter after a kindergarten craft project. When examining brain tissue under high magnification, researchers saw "innumerable shard-like solid particulates" scattered throughout. You know, just tiny plastic daggers floating around in your thinking meat.

"These data compel a much larger effort to understand whether these particles have a role in neurological disorders," Campen notes, in what might be the most diplomatic way possible of saying "Holy shit, our brains are turning into Tupperware."

But look on the bright side — your brain is now officially a recycling bin for shopping bags.

Previously:
Scientists watch in real time as microplastics block blood vessels in mouse brains
Microplastics have been found in human blood for the first time ever
Tea found in delicious microplastic infusion bags
Microplastics found in every semen test sample in study