 Studies have shown that everyday objects such as baby bottles and teabags can release plastic particles into the environment and into our bodies. Now, new research shows the scale of this problem. Items such as single-use coffee cups can release trillions of plastic particles into hot liquid. Separately, scientists have recently discovered that exposure to plastic nanoparticles can drive cellular senescence and dysfunction. What does this mean for us? Let's explore what we know and what we don't in this episode of Lifespan News. Plastic has changed the face of civilization, but its convenience comes at a cost, often in the form of environmental pollution from its manufacturing and waste. But now there's a growing understanding that plastic could harm us as well. Plastic can disintegrate into nanoparticles that can be suspended in the atmosphere for extended periods of time, entering the body through breathing. Exposure can also occur by ingestion or even absorption by the skin. Researchers with the US government's National Institute for Standards and Technology have recently published an alarming data in the journal Environmental Science and Technology which shows that common consumer products can release trillions of nanoparticles into hot liquid when they are used. The researchers analyzed two types of products, food-grade nylon bags like those used for slow cooking, and hot beverage cups lined with low-density polyethylene. They exposed the products to hot water and then analyzed the released particles. They found that most of the released particles were between 30 and 80 nanometers in size, that the nylon bags released 7 times more particles than the beverage cups. According to researcher Christopher Zangmeister, the main takeaway here is that there are plastic particles wherever we look. There are a lot of them, trillions per liter. In the last decades, scientists have found plastics wherever we looked in the environment. People have looked at snow and Antarctica, the bottom of glacial lakes, and found microplastics. Our study is different because these nanoparticles are really small and a big deal because they could get inside of a cell, possibly disrupting its function. Zangmeister clarified that they do not know the full effects of these nanoparticles on cells. He's right and that's part of the problem. The research into the effects of plastic nanoparticles on human health is very much in its infancy. There have been indications that particles in blood can lead to ailments such as pulmonary hypertension, but much remains unclear. Now in a new study, scientists in Korea are analyzing the effect of plastic nanoparticles on cellular senescence, a known driver of aging. In particular, senescence in vascular endothelial cells, which compose the inner layer of blood vessels, is known to promote cardiovascular dysfunction. The researchers used endothelial cells taken from a pig's coronary artery, subjecting them to various concentrations of 25 nanometer particles of polystyrene, one of the most ubiquitous types of plastic. In the first experiment, the nanoparticle solution induced senescence in the cells in a concentration dependent manner. Exposing arterial tissue to nanoparticles for 24 hours significantly hampered its reactivity, a measure of how well an artery responds to stimuli by contracting and relaxing. Senescent vascular cells are characterized by reduced production of nitric oxide, a vasodilator crucial for vascular health. Sure enough, nanoparticle exposed cells had much lower levels of a nitric oxide producing enzyme. Nanoparticles also significantly increased oxidative stress, even in the lowest concentration. Several pathways can contribute to oxidative stress, but experiments show that nanoparticle exposure affected one that includes down-regulation of the CERT1 protein. A major question is whether or not the concentrations used in the study bear any resemblance to the real-world concentrations of plastic particles found in our blood. Unfortunately, they do. This is one of the first studies to directly analyze the effects of plastic nanoparticles on the cardiovascular system, and there's so much more to know. As was stated, these plastics are found everywhere we look, from the deepest part to the ocean to the world's tallest mountains, as well as inside our bodies. But there are a lot of different types of plastics and not all of these experiments focused on the same kinds. Perhaps different types of nanoparticles impact us differently, but we don't know that yet. So, am I ready to eliminate plastics from my life? No, but I will be closely watching this research, and we need a lot more of it. When there's more to share, we'll have it for you here, so please subscribe so you don't miss out. I'm Ryan O'Shea, and we'll see you next time on Lifespan News.