Rose Rimler

Well, yeah, so I reached out to them and they did acknowledge to me, this is a quote, that the paper is a single study and the science is nowhere near settled. Mm-hmm. But they also say that they tried to solve this problem by trying to remove all the fat in their samples before they put the samples through the spectrometer at all.

Well, yeah, so I reached out to them and they did acknowledge to me, this is a quote, that the paper is a single study and the science is nowhere near settled. Mm-hmm. But they also say that they tried to solve this problem by trying to remove all the fat in their samples before they put the samples through the spectrometer at all.

So basically before they burned it up, they soaked it in a solution to break down all the organic matter, and then they centrifuged it to get rid of that stuff.

So basically before they burned it up, they soaked it in a solution to break down all the organic matter, and then they centrifuged it to get rid of that stuff.

Yes, but other scientists I spoke to were skeptical that they did work or that it worked well enough to get all the fat out, like not even a little residue left behind. And just in general, more and more scientists are looking at this technique and they're saying, hold up. You know, one scientist I spoke to, he was very blunt.

Yes, but other scientists I spoke to were skeptical that they did work or that it worked well enough to get all the fat out, like not even a little residue left behind. And just in general, more and more scientists are looking at this technique and they're saying, hold up. You know, one scientist I spoke to, he was very blunt.

He said that papers that look for microplastics in human tissues using this technique are, quote, garbage. Ooh. And the thing is, a lot of the studies that you see that say things like microplastics are in our testicles or this or that part of the body, they use this technique.

He said that papers that look for microplastics in human tissues using this technique are, quote, garbage. Ooh. And the thing is, a lot of the studies that you see that say things like microplastics are in our testicles or this or that part of the body, they use this technique.

Yeah. That paper, that was, we looked at a paper that found microplastics in the arterial plaque that got scraped out of people's arteries. Okay. And that, I'm sorry to say, did use this now controversial technique that we just sh** all over. Uh-huh. Okay. Interesting.

Yeah. That paper, that was, we looked at a paper that found microplastics in the arterial plaque that got scraped out of people's arteries. Okay. And that, I'm sorry to say, did use this now controversial technique that we just sh** all over. Uh-huh. Okay. Interesting.

When I asked the authors of that paper about this problem, they pointed to the fact that they had looked at their samples under a powerful microscope and they had seen what looks like little jagged pieces in the cells, which they think must be bits of microplastic. So they argue that that meant their findings were legit. Right. And interestingly, the plastic spoon brain paper did the same thing.

When I asked the authors of that paper about this problem, they pointed to the fact that they had looked at their samples under a powerful microscope and they had seen what looks like little jagged pieces in the cells, which they think must be bits of microplastic. So they argue that that meant their findings were legit. Right. And interestingly, the plastic spoon brain paper did the same thing.

They also looked at their samples under a microscope and they also saw some irregular shaped pieces, think that they're plastic. But the truth is that we don't actually know what those bits are. And even if they are plastic, it doesn't mean they got in there from the person eating or inhaling microplastics while they're alive. What do you mean?

They also looked at their samples under a microscope and they also saw some irregular shaped pieces, think that they're plastic. But the truth is that we don't actually know what those bits are. And even if they are plastic, it doesn't mean they got in there from the person eating or inhaling microplastics while they're alive. What do you mean?

It could be this other very simple but very, like, infernal problem that researchers in this space have to deal with. And that is the problem of contamination because these samples, they're analyzed in a lab and labs are full of plastic. You've got plastic tubes, plastic equipment, plastic fibers that can shut off lab coats. And at any point, any of those things could have snuck into the sample.

It could be this other very simple but very, like, infernal problem that researchers in this space have to deal with. And that is the problem of contamination because these samples, they're analyzed in a lab and labs are full of plastic. You've got plastic tubes, plastic equipment, plastic fibers that can shut off lab coats. And at any point, any of those things could have snuck into the sample.

Right. I could even have come from the medical examiner's office as the brains are being harvested, you know? I doubt that's a plastic-free zone. So the authors tried hard. They talk about it. They thought about it, and they tried as best they could to keep plastic away from their samples when they had the opportunity to, but it's pretty hard to do.

Right. I could even have come from the medical examiner's office as the brains are being harvested, you know? I doubt that's a plastic-free zone. So the authors tried hard. They talk about it. They thought about it, and they tried as best they could to keep plastic away from their samples when they had the opportunity to, but it's pretty hard to do.

There's actually a plastics research group that has set up a lab that's supposed to be as plastics-free as possible, and even they can't get contamination down to zero. Wow! So if some plastic particle or fiber got into the sample, then that means it could have really blown up these results.

There's actually a plastics research group that has set up a lab that's supposed to be as plastics-free as possible, and even they can't get contamination down to zero. Wow! So if some plastic particle or fiber got into the sample, then that means it could have really blown up these results.