Microplastics Are Already In Our Bodies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are very much living in the Plastic Age. 

 

Whether it’s our food supply and how it’s packaged, our dwellings, furnishings and clothing or even our environment, there is almost no avoiding plastic in some way, shape or form. 

 

While plastic makes our lives easier in countless ways – can you imagine life without shoes, computers or cars? – there’s also no denying that plastics are choking our environment. And governments can’t agree on how to tame this monster they have created. 

 

Plastics also affect our health in ways we are only just beginning to understand. Microplastics and nanoplastics – incredibly tiny bits of plastic that break off and shed from larger products – have made their way into many of the tissues of our bodies, including our brain, reproductive organs (both male and female), and cardiovascular system.

 

“It’s much more pervasive than meets the eye”, Dr. Leonardo Trasande (left), the director of environmental pediatrics and the vice chair for pediatric research at NYU School of Medicine had disclosed on his podcast "Chasing Life". Trasande has spent the last two decades studying how environmental exposures, including to microplastics, affect our health. 

 

“We eat a lot of plastic. We inhale a lot of plastic” in the form of dust, Trasande said. “We literally use cosmetics that resorb in our body... We’ve just come to accept plastic as normal. And it’s not normal”. 

The Malaysian women's squash squad ended the 2024 World Team Squash Championships in Hong Kong, China, with the bronze medal after losing to the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

World No. 17 Rachel Arnold, who went first for Malaysia, displayed great fighting spirit, forcing world No. 30 Amanda Sobhy to battle through to a decisive fifth set. However, Rachel eventually lost 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 8-11 after 45 minutes of play.

 

The loss meant that world No. 10 Sivasangari Subramaniam had to shoulder the heavy responsibility to level the score – but she succumbed to world No. 4 Olivia Weaver with a result of 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 2-11, 2-11 in 47 minutes.

 

Sivasangari's defeat meant that world No. 31 Aira Azman, who was scheduled to play as the third singles, was not fielded in the semi-final.

 

The national women's squash team's best achievement was in the 2014 edition in Canada, where Malaysia finished as runners-up after losing to England in the final.