{"id":50237,"date":"2025-08-02T19:31:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=50237"},"modified":"2025-08-02T19:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:02:09","slug":"microplastics-detected-in-human-brains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-08-2025\/microplastics-detected-in-human-brains","title":{"rendered":"Microplastics Detected in Human Brains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus:&nbsp; GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent scientific studies have found microplastics in human brains, raising concerns about potential health risks and need for a <strong>Global Plastics Treaty.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Plastic and Microplastics?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The word plastic is derived from the Greek word<strong> plastikos,<\/strong> meaning \u201c<strong>capable of being shaped or moulded.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plastic refers to a <strong>wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials <\/strong>that use <strong>polymers<\/strong> as a main ingredient with their defining quality being their <strong>plasticity<\/strong> \u2013 the ability of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation in response to applied forces.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This makes them extremely <strong>adaptable, capable of being shaped as per requirement.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The basic building blocks of plastics are <strong>monomers, <\/strong>which are small molecules that can join together to form long chains called<strong> polymers through a process called polymerization.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Microplastics: <\/strong>Plastics break down into their smaller units called <strong>microplastics<\/strong> \u2013 officially defined as plastics <strong>less than five millimetres in diameter.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Types of Microplastics:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary: <\/strong>Manufactured small on purpose (e.g. microbeads in cosmetics).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Secondary: <\/strong>Result from breakdown of larger plastic items (e.g. bottles, bags).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"bdcfd6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bdcfd6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"570\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Microplastics-Detected-in-Human-Brains.webp\" alt=\"Microplastics-Detected-in-Human-Brains\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-50239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Microplastics-Detected-in-Human-Brains.webp 570w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Microplastics-Detected-in-Human-Brains-300x203.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impact of Plastic Pollution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Neurological concerns: <\/strong>Microplastics in the brain may cause inflammation, cognitive dysfunction, and neurodegenerative diseases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Soil and water contamination: <\/strong>Microplastics affect soil fertility and contaminate freshwater and marine ecosystems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Threat to marine life:<\/strong> Ingestion of microplastics by marine organisms leads to bioaccumulation and death.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transfer of Pollutants:<\/strong> Microplastics can absorb other harmful chemicals from the environment, acting as carriers for these contaminants into organisms and potentially leading to toxicity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is the Global Plastics Treaty?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was Initiated by the <strong>Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) <\/strong>under <strong>UN Environment Assembly Resolution 5\/14 in 2022.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It aims to develop a <strong>legally binding international instrument<\/strong> to end plastic pollution.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It mandates a full lifecycle approach, including <strong>upstream (production), midstream (use), and downstream (waste management) processes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The second part of the fifth session<\/strong> of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee<strong> (INC-5.2) <\/strong>is being held in Geneva from August 5\u201314, 2025, to finalise the Global Plastics Treaty.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the heart of the treaty discussions is <strong>Article 6<\/strong>, which focuses on regulating plastic supply, specifically production, imports, and exports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f0f2f2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"424\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tackling-plastic-waste-1024x424.png\" alt=\"tackling-plastic-waste\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-50238\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f0f2f2; width:552px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tackling-plastic-waste-1024x424.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tackling-plastic-waste-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tackling-plastic-waste-768x318.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tackling-plastic-waste-1536x636.png 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tackling-plastic-waste.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The detection of microplastics in human brains is a stark reminder of how deeply plastic pollution has infiltrated human health and ecosystems.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Global Plastics Treaty,<\/strong> especially Article 6, offers a unique opportunity to tackle the problem at its source.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For the treaty to be effective, it must adopt ambitious, enforceable, and science-backed measures to regulate plastic production and promote a circular economy for a healthier planet and population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/142206\/OPS\/GHPEN8IKN.1+GTJEN91PG.1.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><strong>, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/waste\/making-sense-of-article-6-why-plastic-production-measures-are-essential-for-a-strong-global-treaty\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>DTE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recent scientific studies have found microplastics in human brains, raising concerns about potential health risks and need for a Global Plastics Treaty.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is Plastic and Microplastics?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The word plastic is derived from the Greek word plastikos, meaning \u201ccapable of being shaped or moulded.\u201d<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Plastic refers to a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient with their defining quality being their plasticity \u2013 the ability of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation in response to applied forces.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">This makes them extremely adaptable, capable of being shaped as per requirement.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The basic building blocks of plastics are monomers, which are small molecules that can join together to form long chains called polymers through a process called polymerization.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-08-2025\/microplastics-detected-in-human-brains\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50255,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50237\/revisions\/50255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}