Good news! Our brains might not be turning into plastic after all.
Driving the news: A recent analysis found that many of the high-profile studies on the impact of microplastics on humans are highly flawed, with scientists now pointing to a number of problems with the methodology and results of the research.
Some scientists say the results of these headline-making studies on microplastics likely stem from contamination or false positives during the research process.
One researcher in Berlin, who referred to a leading study on microplastics as a joke, says there are serious doubts about “more than half of the very high impact papers” about microplastics in our bodies.
Why it’s happening: Those in academia say the race to put out studies can incentivize shortcuts and oversights that inevitably lead to unreliable results. The sheer volume of new studies has also made it impossible to peer review all of them properly.
Why it matters: We rely on these studies to inform public policy and determine what is and isn’t safe. The recent flood of flawed — if not entirely fake — research undermines how we are able to collectively make those decisions.
In 2023, over 10,000 fake academic papers had to be retracted from journals. Many of them are being unknowingly cited in real papers, earning more credibility through those references.
Bottom line: As one chemist told the Guardian, “This is really forcing us to re-evaluate everything we think we know about microplastics in the body. Which, as it turns out, is really not very much.” That said, we still won’t be microwaving our Tupperware (just in case).—LA