Study: Microplastics in the Brain Have Increased by 50% in the Last Eight Years
Levels of microplastics in the human brain have increased by 50% in the last eight years, according to a pioneering new study.
Researchers looked at autopsy samples taken in Albuquerque, New Mexico, between 2016 and 2024. They compared microplastic levels between different organs—the brain, liver and kidneys—and also compared levels in these organs over time.
The found that the brain samples contained significantly more microplastics than the kidney or liver samples. There noted a significantly larger amount of one plastic in particular, polyethylene, in the brain samples. Polyethylene is used in plastic bags, bottles and other containers.
Even more worryingly, the researchers noted that levels of microplastics increased over time. Concentrations in the brain samples rose by 50% in the last eight years.
The researchers believe the results may be explained by the fact that the liver and kidneys are “front line” organs for the removal of harmful substances from the body, so they are better equipped than the brain to dispose of microplastics.
Plastics are lipophilic—meaning they are attracted to fatty tissues—and the brain has the second highest lipid content of any organ in the body, besides adipose tissue itself, as well as a massive, extensive bloody supply to carry microplastics to it.
More than nine billion tons of plastic are estimated to have been produced between 1950 and 2017, with over half of that total having been produced since 2004. The vast majority of plastic ends up in the environment in one form or another, where it breaks down, through weathering, exposure to UV light and organisms of all kinds, into smaller and smaller pieces—microplastics and their even trickier brethren, nanoplastics. These are “secondary” microplastics, but there’s a whole class of “primary” microplastics which are small by design, like so-called “microbeads” used in cosmetics. Within our homes, microplastics are mainly produced when synthetic fibres from clothes, furnishings and carpets are shed. They accumulate in large quantities in dust and float around in the air, which we then inhale.
Microplastics have become a source of major health concern in recent years as the extent of human and animal exposure to them has become clearer. These minute pieces of plastic, often invisible to the naked eye, have been linked to virtually every major chronic disease of the modern age, from obesity and gut conditions like IBS, to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Microplastics have also been implicated in the worldwide fertility crisis that could see humans unable to reproduce by natural means as early as 2050. According to expert Professor Shanna Swan, by 2050 the median man will have a sperm count of zero, meaning one half of all men will produce no sperm whatsoever, and the other half will produce so few they might as well produce none.
If you want to know more about microplastics, and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from the, read our longform primer on the subject.
US Tech Company Drops Olympics Ads after Opening Ceremony
A US tech company has pulled all advertising from the Paris Olympics after the opening ceremony featured a parody of the Last Supper involving drag queens, fat-positive influencers and dancers.
Within hours of the opening ceremony, which provoked outrage and derision, Mississippi-based telecommunications and technology company C Spire announced it had cut ties with the games.
“We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics,” the company posted on Twitter.
Company President and CEO Suzy Hays said in a statement: “C Spire is supportive of our athletes who have worked so hard to be a part of the Olympics. However, we will not be a part of the offensive and unacceptable mockery of the Last Supper, which is why we’re pulling our advertising from the Olympics.”
It’s not clear at this point what form the advertising would have taken or how much was paid for it.
C Spire received support from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves on Twitter.
“I am proud to see the private sector in Mississippi step up and put their foot down. God will not be mocked. C Spire drew a common-sense, appropriate line.”
The opening ceremony drew a chorus of disgust and anger, with many questioning what on earth it had to do with the sporting competition and others stating it was a sinister, even Satanic, ceremony.
French politician Marion Maréchal, niece of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, took to Twitter to apologise to “all the Christians of the world” for the blasphemous display.
“To all the Christians of the world who are watching the #Paris2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”
Thomas Jolly, the “artistic director” of the ceremony, defended it during a press conference on Saturday morning.
“Our subject was not to be subversive. We never wanted to be subversive. We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together,” Jolly said.
“We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that. In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.”
Mexican Cartel Leaders Captured in Texas
The leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and feared drug cartels, have been captured in El Paso, Texas.
Ismael Zambada Garcia, cofounder of the cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of its other cofounder, the notorious “El Chapo,” were arrested on Thursday, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The two men had been sought by federal authorities for years for their role in running Sinaloa’s drug-trafficking regime, including the manufacture and sale of fentanyl.
In February, Garcia was indicted in New York on charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl. The Department of Justice alleged that he led the Sinaloa cartel between 1989 and 2024, and that he employed a network of hitmen to intimidate and kill his rivals. He was already subject to multiple previous indictments associated with his criminal enterprise, for money laundering, murder conspiracy and various drug-related crimes.
Guzman Lopez was also subject to multiple indictments in the US, along with 32 other members of the Sinaloa cartel.
Rewards of $15 million and $10 million were offered by the State Department for information leading to the arrest of Garcia and Guzman Lopez respectively.
Guzman Lopez’s father, “El Chapo,” is currently serving a life term in the federal supermax prison near Florence, Colorado, after being convicted in 2019 on charges relating to drug, firearms, and money laundering.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” the DOJ said in response to the arrests.
Trump Vows To Ban WEF Rollout of CBDCs: “They Are a Threat to Our Liberty”
President Donald Trump has vowed to make the WEF’s CBDC system illegal in America if he wins the election this November. In a new speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville Trump made his […]
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12 Israelis Killed by Hezbollah, Raising Fear of Lebanon Escalation
At least 12 people, including children and teenagers, were killed by a Hezbollah rocket strike on Israel on Saturday, raising fears of an escalation of Israel’s Gaza conflict to Lebanon.
Israeli officials said they identified “approximately 30 projectiles” that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Israel has blamed the attack on Hezbollah, which has the backing of Iran; although the group denies responsibility.
Among the sites hit by the rockets was a soccer field where children and teenagers had been playing. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari described the barrage as “the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since October 7.”
“This is a very serious incident and we will act accordingly.”
Hagari said the rocket that hit the soccer field was a “Falaq 1 Iranian rocket carrying a 50kg warhead.” “This is a model that is owned exclusively by Hezbollah, and tonight it caused the deaths of 12 young boys and girls.”
In addition to the minimum of 12 deaths, 29 people were injured in the attack in the village of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights. A large proportion of inhabitants in the area are Druze Arabs who lived there when Israeli took the Golan Heights in 1967, during the Six-Day War. There are also a large number of Israeli settlers there.
At present, the victims all appear to be Druze.
Overnight, in response to the attack, Israeli warplanes hit Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon,” according to a statement from the Israeli military this morning. Weapons caches and “terrorist infrastructure” were the targets.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Hezbollah will “pay a heavy price.”
Officially, Israel and Lebanon have been at war for decades, but recent tensions as a result of Hamas’s 7 October attacks and the Israel response to them have not escalated into open warfare yet. In recent weeks, Israel and Hezbollah have intensified tit-for-tat strikes against each other.
The White House has condemned the attack on Majdal Shams and reaffirmed its “iron-clad” support for Israel.
“Israel continues to face severe threats to its security, as the world saw today, and the United States will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line [the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon], which must be a top priority,” a National Security Council Spokesperson said in a written statement to CNN.
The EU’s head of foreign policy Josep Borrell called for an independent investigation into the attacks and begged restraint.
“Shocking images from the soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams. I strongly condemn this bloodbath. We urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation,” he said on Twitter.
Hersch: Obama Used 25th Amendment To Force Biden Out
Joe Biden was forced to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race when Barack Obama secretly invoked the 25th Amendment with Kamala Harris, according to investigative journalist Seymour Hersch. The amendment allows for the vice president […]
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