Microplastics in the Olfactory Bulb of the Human Brain.

Importance: Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging environmental and health concern. While MPs have been detected in various human tissues, their presence in the human brain has not been documented, raising important questions about potential neurotoxic effects and the mechanisms by which MPs might reach brain tissues.

Objective: To determine the presence of MPs in the human olfactory bulb and to analyze their characteristics such as size, morphology, color, and polymeric composition.

Atmospheric microplastic fallout in outdoor and indoor environments in São Paulo megacity.

Plastics are widely used by society, and their degradation into millimetre fragments, called microplastics (MPs), has become a global environmental threat to ecosystems and human health. However, airborne MPs' presence and fallout fluxes from the atmosphere are poorly understood and can vary significantly by different conditions, especially in megacities of low- and middle-income countries, where high levels of vehicular air pollution, a high-density population, high plastic use, and inadequate disposal are environmental threats related to airborne MPs. In this study, we investigate the amount, chemical composition, and morphological characteristics of outdoor and indoor airborne MPs fallout in the megacity of São Paulo and assess the influence of weather and seasons on airborne MPs fallout.

Quantification of airborne SARS-CoV-2 genomic particles in different hospital settings.

We quantified the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the air of different hospital settings and the autopsy room of the largest medical centre in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Real-time reverse-transcription PCR was used to determine the presence of the envelope protein of SARS-CoV-2 and the nucleocapsid protein genes. The E-gene was detected in 5 out of 6 samples at the ICU-COVID-19 ward and in 5 out of 7 samples at the ward-COVID-19.

Airborne microplastics and SARS-CoV-2 in total suspended particles in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America.

Microplastics (MPs) have been reported in the outdoor/indoor air of urban centres, raising health concerns due to the potential for human exposure. Since aerosols are considered one of the routes of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission and may bind to the surface of airborne MPs, we hypothesize that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could be associated with the levels of MPs in the air. Our goal was to quantify the SARS-CoV-2 RNA and MPs present in the total suspended particles (TSP) collected in the area surrounding the largest medical centre in Latin America and to elucidate a possible association among weather variables, MPs, and SARS-CoV-2 in the air.

Presence of airborne microplastics in human lung tissue.

Plastics are ubiquitously used by societies, but most of the plastic waste is deposited in landfills and in the natural environment. Their degradation into submillimetre fragments, called microplastics, is a growing concern due to potential adverse effects on the environment and human health. Microplastics are present in the air and may be inhaled by humans, but whether they have deleterious effects on the respiratory system remain unknown.