Laboratory experiments find that Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia can congregate on microplastic beads and fibers, suggesting they might make their way into and around the world’s oceans by hitching rides on tiny bits of trash.

In Chapter 5, "Pick Up the Pieces," author Erica Cirino investigates the potential health risks of the small plastic particles that permeate the planet.

Plastic waste pervades every ecosystem on Earth and is likely affecting neurobiology as well.

Countries outside the US and Europe that are already used to long wait times for laboratory supplies are facing greater research disruptions than ever during the pandemic.

The project did not assess any implications for children’s health, but the authors recommend changing up how parents use baby bottles to reduce the amount of plastic in formula or breastmilk.

Also known as superworms, the scavengers are able to digest the plastic, opening up the possibility of harnessing their abilities to help tackle our pollution crisis.

Seabirds in Norway use fishing debris to construct nests.

A phthalate commonly found in shampoos, cosmetics, and cleaning products disrupts reproduction in worms.

Britain’s largest university aims to eliminate single-use plastics, in the lab and elsewhere around campus, by 2024. How exactly the institution plans to meet that goal is yet to be determined.

Researchers collected trash that washed up at Gulf Coast shoreline sites over two years. Most of it was plastic.

The plastic ingredients BPS and diphenyl sulfone cause chromosomal abnormalities, and the effects can last for generations.

The 600-meter-long structure will tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—a huge buildup of trash floating between California and Hawaii—but not everyone thinks it will work.

The materials are a previously unaccounted-for source of methane and ethylene, researchers find.

Across the US, laboratories are finding creative ways to minimize the amount of plastic they throw away.  

Converting biowaste to plant food is an overlooked source of tiny plastic pollutants, researchers say.

The pre-peer review assessment finds the compound has “minimal effects,” but endocrinologists and others say key data have yet to come out.

Editors’ picks of the year’s best in The Scientist infographics.

New research suggests that plastic might just “taste good” to hard corals.

Decades of evidence point to the untoward health effects of endocrine disruptor exposures, yet little is being done to regulate the chemicals.