(Press-News.org) Bio-based materials may pose a greater health risk to some of the planet’s most important species than the conventional plastics they are designed to replace, a new study has shown.
Such materials are increasingly being advocated as environmentally friendly alternatives to plastics, and used in textiles and products including clothing, wet wipes and period products.
However, microfibres of the materials are emitted into the environment through the laundry cycle, the application of sewage sludge as fertilisers, or the simple wear and tear of textile products.
Despite increasing quantities of bio-based products being produced and sold all over the world, there has been little research to assess their potential impact on species and ecosystems.
To address that, a new study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology tested the effects of conventional polyester fibres and two bio-based fibres –viscose and lyocell – on earthworms, a species critical to the health of soils globally.
The study found that in high concentrations of fibres, 30% of earthworms died after 72 hours when exposed to polyester, while those exposed to the bio-based fibres experienced much higher mortality of up to 60% in the case of lyocell and 80% for viscose.
A second experiment, using environmentally relevant concentrations of the fibres, indicated that earthworms housed in soils containing viscose fibres exhibited reduced reproduction compared to those exposed to polyester fibres. Earthworms in the soils containing lyocell fibres showed reduced growth and also higher rates of burrowing within the soil compared to exposure to the other types of fibre.
The researchers say the study highlights the complex nature of global efforts to reduce the threat of microplastic pollution, and the importance of testing new materials being advocated as alternatives to plastics before they are released on the open market.
The study was carried out as part of the BIO-PLASTIC-RISK project, led by researchers at the University of Plymouth and the University of Bath, and supported with £2.6million funding by the Natural Environmental Research Council.
Dr Winnie Courtene-Jones, lead author on the new study and now a Lecturer in Marine Pollution at Bangor University, said: “Over 320,000 tonnes of bio-based and biodegradable fibres were produced globally in 2022 and research shows that substantial quantities of that will end up in the environment. However, evidence of their ecological impacts has been lacking. Our study has shown that bio-based fibres have a range of adverse effects on earthworms – animals which are critical to the functioning of the environment. It highlights the importance of gathering further evidence before alternatives to conventional plastics are made available even more widely.”
The new study follows research published earlier in 2024 which highlighted that being exposed to the materials used in biodegradable teabags can result in earthworm populations experiencing up to 15% greater mortality, and have a detrimental effect on earthworm reproduction.
It has been published just a few weeks before the United Nations gathers world leaders meet in Busan, South Korea, for the final round of negotiations regarding a possible Global Plastics Treaty.
Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, senior author on the new study and Head of the University of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit, will be at those discussions along with policy makers, scientists and other delegates from across the world.
He added: “It is clear that along with recycling and re-use, tackling plastic pollution will require a reduction in the quantities of plastics used and produced. There is increasing interest in alternative materials that could be used as substitutes for plastic, but this publication further emphasises the importance of testing new innovations in relevant environmental settings prior to widescale adoption. I firmly believe it is possible to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, but independent scientific evidence will be critical in helping us avoid unintended consequences as we look for solutions.”
END
Bio-based fibers could pose greater threat to the environment than conventional plastics
The research has led scientists to suggest that materials being advocated as alternatives to plastic should be tested thoroughly before they are used extensively in a range of products
2024-11-05
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Bacteria breakthrough could accelerate mosquito control schemes
2024-11-05
Mosquito larvae grow faster if they’re exposed to particular bacteria, according to a new study that could help global health programmes.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread illnesses including dengue, yellow fever and Zika.
Anti-disease programmes breed and release non-biting male mosquitoes that are either sterile or prevent transmission of diseases.
These mass release programmes can be substantially more effective than the widespread spraying of insecticides, as these insects have developed resistance to many commonly employed chemicals.
The new study, by ...
Argonne to help drive AI revolution in astronomy with new institute led by Northwestern University
2024-11-04
The U.S. National Science Foundation and Simons Foundation have selected a group of institutions, including Argonne, to receive funding to establish an AI and astronomy institute called the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI).
Part of a groundbreaking effort to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory is a key collaborator in the newly launched NSF-Simons AI Institute ...
Medicaid funding for addiction treatment hasn’t curbed overdose deaths
2024-11-04
For generations, the federal government has largely refrained from paying for mental health and substance use treatment in large residential facilities.
That changed in 2015 when, in response to increasing overdose deaths nationwide from illicit drugs, the federal government allowed states to waive a longstanding prohibition against using federal Medicaid funding for services in so-called institutions of mental diseases. In turn, states were required to improve their addiction care with an emphasis on increasing treatment with medications.
Yet a new study by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University finds no overall ...
UVA co-leads $2.9 million NIH investigation into where systems may fail people with disabilities
2024-11-04
A University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science researcher is partnering on a historic and foundational National Institutes of Health study to help the nation discuss, and better address, the concept of structural ableism and where it may result in healthcare disparities.
Rupa Valdez, a professor of systems and information engineering who also holds an appointment as a professor of public health sciences in the UVA School of Medicine, is co-leading the five-year, $2.9 million investigation — the first of its kind.
Currently, the field relies on non-standardized ...
With the help of AI, UC Berkeley researchers confirm Hollywood is getting more diverse
2024-11-04
With recent box office hits like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Little Mermaid and Everything Everywhere All at Once, the average viewer might assume that the casts of Hollywood films are more diverse now than they were 10 or 20 years ago. But verifying these perceptions can be tricky.
Even before the #OscarsSoWhite social media campaign in 2015 brought much-needed attention to the lack of diversity in Academy-nominated films, film scholars had begun documenting the lack of representation of women and actors of color in Hollywood. Doing so requires that they watch ...
Weight loss interventions associated with improvements in several symptoms of PCOS
2024-11-04
Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 4 November 2024
@Annalsofim
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.
----------------------------
1. ...
Federal government may be overpaying for veterans’ health care in Medicare Advantage plans
2024-11-04
Key points:
Approximately one in five of the veterans enrolled in a high-veteran Medicare Advantage (MA) plan did not incur any Medicare services paid by MA within a given year and instead received their health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
In 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) paid more $1 billion to MA plans for enrolling VA-enrollees who did not utilize Medicare services, with nearly 20% of that funding directed disproportionately to high-veteran MA plans.
The ...
Researchers awarded $2.5 million grant to increase lung cancer screenings in underserved communities
2024-11-04
A multidisciplinary team of experts in lung cancer screening and implementation science from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health was awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, an independent charitable organization, to spearhead a new initiative aimed at reducing disparities in lung cancer screening across Los Angeles County.
The award supports a new program called ...
New trigger proposed for record-smashing 2022 Tonga eruption
2024-11-04
American Geophysical Union
4 November 2024
AGU Release No. 24-35
For Immediate Release
This press release is available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/new-trigger-tonga-eruption/
New trigger proposed for record-smashing 2022 Tonga eruption
Previously unstudied data from a seismic wave, detected 750 kilometers from the seamount, may bolster tsunami early-warning systems.
AGU press contact:
Liza Lester, +1 (202) 777-7494, news@agu.org (UTC-5 hours)
Contact information for the researchers:
Mie Ichihara, University of Tokyo, ichihara@eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp, (UTC+9 hours)
WASHINGTON — Fifteen minutes before the ...
Lupus Research Alliance announces Lupus Research Highlights at ACR Convergence 2024
2024-11-04
Lupus Research Alliance Announces Lupus Research Highlights
at ACR Convergence 2024
Sixteen presentations of preclinical studies funded by the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) to advance understanding of lupus and potential treatment pathways, including four oral presentations
Two reports by Lupus Therapeutics, the clinical affiliate of the LRA, and the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) on promoting equity in lupus clinical trials, and identifying trial barriers and solutions
Fifteen industry-sponsored clinical research studies supported by Lupus Therapeutics and LuCIN, including positive results from the late-breaking Phase 3 dapirolizumab pegol trial ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement
Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies
CD Laboratory at Graz University of Technology researches new semiconductor materials
Animal characters can boost young children’s psychological development, study suggests
South Korea completes delivery of ITER vacuum vessel sectors
Global research team develops advanced H5N1 detection kit to tackle avian flu
From food crops to cancer clinics: Lessons in extermination resistance
Scientists develop novel high-fidelity quantum computing gate
Novel detection technology alerts health risks from TNT metabolites
New XR simulator improves pediatric nursing education
New copper metal-organic framework nanozymes enable intelligent food detection
The Lancet: Deeply entrenched racial and geographic health disparities in the USA have increased over the last two decades—as life expectancy gap widens to 20 years
2 MILLION mph galaxy smash-up seen in unprecedented detail
Scientists find a region of the mouse gut tightly regulated by the immune system
How school eligibility influences the spread of infectious diseases: Insights for future outbreaks
UM School of Medicine researchers link snoring to behavioral problems in adolescents without declines in cognition
The Parasaurolophus’ pipes: Modeling the dinosaur’s crest to study its sound #ASA187
St. Jude appoints leading scientist to create groundbreaking Center of Excellence for Structural Cell Biology
Hear this! Transforming health care with speech-to-text technology #ASA187
Exploring the impact of offshore wind on whale deaths #ASA187
Mass General Brigham and BIDMC researchers unveil an AI protein engineer capable of making proteins ‘better, faster, stronger’
Metabolic and bariatric surgery safe and effective for patients with severe obesity
Smarter city planning: MSU researchers use brain activity to predict visits to urban areas
Using the world’s fastest exascale computer, ACM Gordon Bell Prize-winning team presents record-breaking algorithm to advance understanding of chemistry and biology
Jeffrey Hubbell joins NYU Tandon to lead new university-wide health engineering initiative & expand the school’s bioengineering focus
Fewer than 7% of global hotspots for whale-ship collisions have protection measures in place
Oldies but goodies: Study shows why elderly animals offer crucial scientific insights
Math-selective US universities reduce gender gap in STEM fields
Researchers identify previously unknown compound in drinking water
Chloronitramide anion – a newly characterized contaminant prevalent in chloramine treated tap water
[Press-News.org] Bio-based fibers could pose greater threat to the environment than conventional plasticsThe research has led scientists to suggest that materials being advocated as alternatives to plastic should be tested thoroughly before they are used extensively in a range of products