A recent scientific study revealed that exposure to microplastics not only directly affects human “health,” but can also leave biological footprints that are passed on to future generations. In a first-of-its-kind experiment, researchers from the University of California, Riverside, found that exposing male mice to microplastics may increase their daughters’ susceptibility to diabetes-like disorders.
Microplastics are very small plastic particles, less than 5 millimeters in size, that result from the fragmentation of plastic products. They have been found almost everywhere, from the depths of the oceans to human body organs, including reproductive tissues.
In this study, scientists exposed male mice to microplastics and then monitored the “health” of their offspring. It is worth noting that the males did not follow a poor diet, but all the young were placed on a high-fat diet to test their ability to withstand metabolic stress. The results showed that female mice in particular showed diabetes-like changes, compared to females whose fathers were not exposed to microplastics.
Lead researcher “Changcheng Zhou” explained that the reason for this is due to changes that occurred in the fathers’ sperm, not in the DNA itself, but in small molecules called non-coding small ribonucleic acid, which are molecules that play an important role in regulating gene activity during embryonic development.
The researchers point out that these results, published in the “Journal of the Endocrine Society,” although drawn from experiments on mice, have disturbing implications for humans, especially in light of the widespread presence of microplastics in the environment.
They advise men who are planning to have children to reduce their exposure to plastic as much as possible, by avoiding heating food in plastic containers and using glass or steel instead.
