Scientists are trying to understand the potential impacts of ingesting these pervasive plastics but early results are ambiguous, as some experiments might not reflect the diversity of microplastics that exist in the real world.
This is an audio version of our feature: Microplastics are everywhere — but are they harmful?
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Chemistry can make plastics sustainable – but isn’t the whole solution
Tainted water: the scientists tracing thousands of fluorinated chemicals in our environment
Bottles, bags, ropes and toothbrushes: the struggle to track ocean plastics
