CNN —Human testicles contain microplastics and nanoplastics at levels three times higher than animal testes and human placentas, a new small study found.
“They look like little shards, tiny broken bits from very, very old plastics,” said Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Researchers expected to find more plastic shards in the testicles of older men in the study, but that wasn’t the case, Campen said.
“In testes, the levels of plastic was three times as much as we saw in placentas,” Campen said.
In studies of pregnant mice, researchers have found plastic chemicals in the brain, heart, liver, kidney and lungs of the developing fetus 24 hours after the pregnant mother ingested or breathed in plastic particles.
Persons:
”, Matthew Campen, Campen, ” Campen, “ We’re, Adrienne Bresnahan, Kimberly Wise White, Leonardo Trasande, don’t, Trasande
Organizations:
CNN, micron, Sciences, University of New, Endocrine Society, Getty, American Chemistry Council, placentas, American Academy of Pediatrics, NYU Langone Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, Invest
Locations:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States, placentas, Beijing