The myriad species floating atop the world’s seas, called neuston, are mysterious and understudied, complicating efforts to clean up plastic pollution.
With plastic recovery operations now underway in the world’s marine garbage patches, scientists must contend with how little was known about the organisms living at the surface.
The sea surface is home to a diverse group of animals adapted to life in the open ocean, but increasingly, they’re sharing that space with plastic debris.
A study finds that not only did aquatic bacteria thrive when chemicals washed from degrading plastic were introduced into lake water, they also broke down organic matter more efficiently.
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.
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.
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.
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.
