Article Plastophobia sweeps the US (DIY paranoia)

[C C]

https://www.acsh.org/news/2025/11/10/pla...s-us-49811

INTRO: Microplastics have replaced pesticides and chemicals as the most hated and feared substances in the US. A recent Wall Street Journal headline reads, “The Big Danger of Microplastics,” and asks us to take their quiz on “the tiny pieces of plastic that are polluting the globe and posing health risks.” In recent years, microplastics have become the new villain of public health, replacing more traditional chemicals as substances responsible for every health problem imaginable... (MORE - details)

[Zinjanthropos]

Asked AI about makeup. My wife was watching Drew Barrymore show and she had Pamela Anderson on as a guest sans makeup. She looked different I must say. Apparently there’s a growing trend in Hollywood to avoid makeup where possible. Whether T or F can’t say. Companies are working today to produce makeup without microplastics. Oh ya, they're in deodorants too.

AI’s take on microplastics/makeup:

Common in many products: According to one study, approximately 90% of cosmetic products contain microplastics. Common ingredients include polyethylene and polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), which are used in products like lipstick, eyeshadow, and waterproof eyeliner.

Reasons for use: Microplastics are added to cosmetics because they are inexpensive and can improve a product's texture, add sparkle, or help create long-lasting formulas.

Environmental and health concerns: When washed off, these microplastics can enter waterways, where they can persist and potentially harm wildlife. There are also concerns about what happens when microplastics are accidentally ingested, such as through lipstick or other products.

Regulations and alternatives: Many countries are developing regulations to ban or restrict intentionally added microplastics in cosmetics. Plastic-free makeup brands are also becoming more available.

[Zinjanthropos]

This could be a topic all on its own but ….

Read this article on mirror cells and found an interesting little comment on plastics. Mirror cell research is thought provoking stuff for sure. The article….

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new...180987360/

Despite the fact that mirror cells are being compared to doomsday biology, they might also be used to eliminate plastic pollutants.

From article:

. Beyond pushing drug discovery forward, mirror-image research could create enzymes that might degrade plastics, writes Ting Zhu, a molecular biologist at China’s Westlake University working to build a mirror-image ribosome, in a commentary for Nature.

Perhaps the cure being worse than the disease applies here. Personally I’d rather put up with the microplastics than mirror cells. We don’t hear much of potential solutions for pollutant removal from our environment actually being more harmful than the problem. Kind of scary to think how research that is into doing some good could actually wipe us out, let alone all life on the planet.

In a related article I read where this woman was given a $4m grant to develop mirror cells and voluntarily stopped the research over fear of destroying all life.

Kate Adamala, a synthetic biologist at the University of Minnesota, tells Nature that the pursuit of mirror-image life is not worth the risk. “

I guess we should be careful what we wish for because we just might get it. Who regulates scientific research or do we depend on the researchers to stop when danger is recognized?

[C C]

This could be a topic all on its own but ….

Read this article on mirror cells and found an interesting little comment on plastics. Mirror cell research is thought provoking stuff for sure. The article….

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new...180987360/

[...] I guess we should be careful what we wish for because we just might get it. Who regulates scientific research or do we depend on the researchers to stop when danger is recognized?

Once the "power of the gods" becomes available to idiots and criminals, it's game over for the world. Super-advanced technology that is easy to operate becomes doomsday in the hands of impulsive, reckless adolescent minds.

[Zinjanthropos]

This could be a topic all on its own but ….

Read this article on mirror cells and found an interesting little comment on plastics. Mirror cell research is thought provoking stuff for sure. The article….

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new...180987360/

[...] I guess we should be careful what we wish for because we just might get it. Who regulates scientific research or do we depend on the researchers to stop when danger is recognized?

Once the "power of the gods" becomes available to idiots and criminals, it's game over for the world. Super-advanced technology that is easy to operate becomes doomsday in the hands of impulsive, reckless adolescent minds.

If I had to choose, I'd take microplastics over unchecked science any day. Suddenly extinct doesn't sound like anything a species can adapt to. Are there species out there that are adapting to microplastics?

[C C]

If I had to choose, I'd take microplastics over unchecked science any day. Suddenly extinct doesn't sound like anything a species can adapt to. Are there species out there that are adapting to microplastics?

Some bacteria and fungi, of course (actually consuming it). But it's detrimental to the rest.

[Zinjanthropos]

If I had to choose, I'd take microplastics over unchecked science any day. Suddenly extinct doesn't sound like anything a species can adapt to. Are there species out there that are adapting to microplastics?

Some bacteria and fungi, of course (actually consuming it). But it's detrimental to the rest.

An AI answer:

Scientists have discovered 436 species of bacteria and fungi that are capable of breaking down plastic, but this is only a small fraction of what may exist. Studies have also found that a large percentage of environmental microbes carry enzymes that could degrade various types of plastic, and that many species are actively adapting to break it down.

Makes me wonder if at one time there was nothing living that devoured plastic. Evolution?

A critter that can. Found this: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240...gh-plastic