Scientist here. Microplastics in the body are too ingrained in our bodies for bloodletting to do much of anything. They’re even found in fetuses.
The good news (?) is we don’t know enough about microplastics to conclusively say they’re horrible for our health. The bad news is, I’d bet a lot of money that they are.
The whole situation seems pretty hopeless. Is there any hope for improving the situation, or can we only hope that our governments can ban plastic outside of necessary areas before it goes further south?
Well, we don’t yet have evidence that it’s bad for our bodies, per se. That’s step one to getting things to change, IMO. So far we just have theories. Personally, I subscribe to the theory that microplastics are linked to changes in immune cell function/inflammation, which in turn leads to changes in the brain amd leads to some types of neurodegeneratove disorders like Alzheimer’s. Again, a theory, not any conclusive proof. It could be the case that microplastics aren’t causing damage.
But, with the technology we have now, I can imagine some solutions. Most promising, in my opinion, would be something akin to an mRNA vaccine. Introduce the mRNA to your body to produce a protein that targets plastic and leads to its removal from the body, almost like an antibody.
But with the NIH in the United States now targeting mRNA vaccine research for “critical review” as part of Trump’s agenda, the technology may not be long for this part of the world… even though it has revolutionized our ability to quickly, safely, and inexpensively produce vaccines against disease.
The whole mRNA research that the US Pfizer vaccine and all other mRNA based vaccines were based of was conducted in Germany, the US only licenced the vaccine for production.
Research will continue and has been continuing, but it might not be available in the US. You bet Trump and Musk will get it if they need it though.
Prion diseases would be harder because things circulating in your blood don’t always enter your brain (thanks to your astrocytes, which help protect your neurons). But if you can get the right cells to produce the right protein, you can do a lot of amazing things.
Scientist here. Microplastics in the body are too ingrained in our bodies for bloodletting to do much of anything. They’re even found in fetuses.
The good news (?) is we don’t know enough about microplastics to conclusively say they’re horrible for our health. The bad news is, I’d bet a lot of money that they are.
The whole situation seems pretty hopeless. Is there any hope for improving the situation, or can we only hope that our governments can ban plastic outside of necessary areas before it goes further south?
Well, we don’t yet have evidence that it’s bad for our bodies, per se. That’s step one to getting things to change, IMO. So far we just have theories. Personally, I subscribe to the theory that microplastics are linked to changes in immune cell function/inflammation, which in turn leads to changes in the brain amd leads to some types of neurodegeneratove disorders like Alzheimer’s. Again, a theory, not any conclusive proof. It could be the case that microplastics aren’t causing damage.
But, with the technology we have now, I can imagine some solutions. Most promising, in my opinion, would be something akin to an mRNA vaccine. Introduce the mRNA to your body to produce a protein that targets plastic and leads to its removal from the body, almost like an antibody.
But with the NIH in the United States now targeting mRNA vaccine research for “critical review” as part of Trump’s agenda, the technology may not be long for this part of the world… even though it has revolutionized our ability to quickly, safely, and inexpensively produce vaccines against disease.
Well, Europe is picking up researchers now like an inverse Operation Paperclip, so it’s possible research could continue.
The whole mRNA research that the US Pfizer vaccine and all other mRNA based vaccines were based of was conducted in Germany, the US only licenced the vaccine for production.
Research will continue and has been continuing, but it might not be available in the US. You bet Trump and Musk will get it if they need it though.
Wait you can do crazy shit like that with mRNA vaccines?
Does that mean potentially preventing even prion disease is possible?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunotherapy?wprov=sfla1
Immunotherapy is crazy.
Prion diseases would be harder because things circulating in your blood don’t always enter your brain (thanks to your astrocytes, which help protect your neurons). But if you can get the right cells to produce the right protein, you can do a lot of amazing things.
Same with lead…
When it builds up in the blood stream above a certain concentration it starts getting stored in organs.
I know they can cross the bloodbrain barrier, I’m just not sure when/how it starts to accumulate in organs. If it’s just immediate, yeah, no gains.