Microplastics: new scrutiny shakes up claims of rampant health risks

A wave of critique questions whether microplastics pose the health risks often reported. A Nature Medicine letter argues detection methods are flawed and that fats in the body could cause false positives, while other researchers point to contamination and methodological gaps in many studies. Although some experts still warn microplastics can enter the body and be biologically active, there is no consensus on harm; advances like new imaging techniques aim to reduce contamination and better link plastics to disease, but it may take years to standardise methods and reach firm conclusions.