
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
This episode begins our series on "What you may have missed at ATS 2025."
We produce over 450 million tons of plastics each year, the vast majority of which has accumulated in the environment. Increasing evidence suggests that microplastics can accumulate in a number of different organs such as the brain, but what of the lungs?
In this episode, Adam Soloff, PhD (self-described "Lorax of the Thorax"), associate professor, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, walks us through his research to find out what these ever-present microplastics do to the lungs and the pulmonary immune system in particular. Spoiler alert: once inhaled, microplastics pass through the lung seeding many tissues of the body including the heart, brain, gut, liver, and spleen. "We found it everywhere we looked," said Dr. Soloff whose team's work begins to shed light on how microplastics damage lung immunity and may predispose us to lung disease in the future.
4:16 What is a microplastic?
6:19 Where is the most established evidence of how microplastics affects our health?
4.6
3434 ratings
This episode begins our series on "What you may have missed at ATS 2025."
We produce over 450 million tons of plastics each year, the vast majority of which has accumulated in the environment. Increasing evidence suggests that microplastics can accumulate in a number of different organs such as the brain, but what of the lungs?
In this episode, Adam Soloff, PhD (self-described "Lorax of the Thorax"), associate professor, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, walks us through his research to find out what these ever-present microplastics do to the lungs and the pulmonary immune system in particular. Spoiler alert: once inhaled, microplastics pass through the lung seeding many tissues of the body including the heart, brain, gut, liver, and spleen. "We found it everywhere we looked," said Dr. Soloff whose team's work begins to shed light on how microplastics damage lung immunity and may predispose us to lung disease in the future.
4:16 What is a microplastic?
6:19 Where is the most established evidence of how microplastics affects our health?
129 Listeners
1,864 Listeners
34 Listeners
62 Listeners
493 Listeners
3,332 Listeners
1,090 Listeners
185 Listeners
515 Listeners
349 Listeners
426 Listeners
249 Listeners
366 Listeners
56 Listeners
219 Listeners