cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/6121775
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The original was posted on /r/technology by /u/lurker_bee on 2025-06-20 05:10:26+00:00.
I’d rather take some sort of plastic magnet pill and poop out a G.I. Joe a couple days later. Rinse and repeat every 10 years.
People will do EVERYTHING but dealing with the root of the problem.
Sorry, what? Even if you get rid of all plastic tomorrow and stop leaking of microplastics into every part of your life, you will still carry those particles with you. Basically forever.
So yeah, of course we need to address the root of the problem, but also we need therapies like this, cleaning out what is already in the body.
But dealing with the root of the problem doesnt magically make the problem go away. We still need to deal with all the plastic that still exists after we fix the root. We still need a way to get microplastics out of the body. This is valuable research and you are essentially virtue signalling.
Also, this statement applies EVERYWHERE.
And the side effects are?
Micro metals
Just a pink mohawk and 21% chance to turn into a somewhat humanoid pig. Nothing to worry about 'till someone named Duke doesn’t begin runnin 'round.
Is there any actual proven point of filtering out microplastics from the body? We still don’t know if there are any serious health effects from them, there is just this they might be connected to X,Y,Z. Even then the focus really should be environmental purification and water treatment.
We still don’t know if there are any serious health effects from them
That’s no longer entirely true. They can cause inflamation and cancer for example and that’s been proven well beyond “potentially”.
Even then the focus really should be environmental purification and water treatment.
I think both is important. Getting rid of all the microplastics in the environment isn’t possible with current tech and if it ever is it’ll still be an extremely slow process. Plus there are people who are exposed to large doses of microplastics due to their work or the location of their home and for those it could be especially beneficial to get that stuff filtered out.
Do you mind pointing out where are those studies?
I can give you the next best thing. This video explains various aspects that need to be considered with microplastics. It’s mostly an interview with Spanish scientist Joaquim Rovira sharing his findings with what’s usually a cooking channel. He has also published several papers on the topic. Him and his peers are a good place to start if you want the latest findings.
Yup, we should look after the root issue, too. At the moment this just seems like a vibe treatment for millionaires
The effects that worry me most and are arguably the best studied are those on the human endocrine system. It unarguably interferes with our hormonal system, although it is not yet known to which degree or how it impacts each individual separately. Most likely this will go the way of cigarettes; with the world “knowing” it’s poison but not taking action until the effects can absolutely no longer be ignored. By which time it will be too late for many.
Oh good. I’m glad we can just let 3M give microplastics to children in Indonesia once we all decide to quit our pack a day habit. Plus it’ll be nice to not be asked by the hostess if we want to sit in the microplastics or non-microplastics section of the restaurant anymore.
No, it’ll go the way of carbon emissions i.e. the world “knowing” the problem but not taking action except for useless emissions targets that we blow past constantly.
Sure you could filter them out of the blood but don’t they get embedded in regular cells too?
Regular cells die or split regularly. When they die, white blood cells eat them, and they’ll be part of filtering the blood.
Neurons don’t though. There’s still some concerns.
Neurons die and replicate on a longer time frame, something like 7+ years, so I guess it’s just the long game with those ones
A lot of our neurons are with us for our whole life. Early neuron degeneration is what causes Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and similar disorders.
Not all neurons last a lifetime, and there are kinds that die off and are replaced, but a good chunk of them aren’t meant to replicate anymore and so won’t be freed of microplastics by bloodletting, and would cause serious problems if microplastics harm their normal processes.
