GenomicPress

Genomic Press: NY's world-class Open Access platform, providing unparalleled visibility. Your research. Our reach. The breakthrough. 🧬Julio Licinio, Publisher.

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7/Follow @BrainMedJournal and @GenomicPress for more from the Festschrift and the work that carries this field forward. 🧠

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1/Seymour Reichlin turns 102 today. Born in New York City on 31 May 1924, and still reading, still arguing, still writing books: neuroendocrinology of Alzheimer's and neurobiology of ecstatic mysticism. Who does that at 102? Brain Medicine is closing a Festschrift in his honor. The issue is in production, but every paper is already live. Here they are. 🧵

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6/🎉 Huge thanks to Alan Harris and George Chrousos, who built this collection with me. Happy birthday, Si. The field you helped build is still standing on your foundations. Full announcement here: https://t.co/jrM63aB7gE

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This is part of the growing micro/nanoplastics crisis now showing up in human brains.
Full open-access Perspective in Brain Health:
https://t.co/4A4QjvMiRc
Will you switch to glass for microwaving? Drop your answer 👇

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🧵 1/4 Microwaving in plastic = a hidden tsunami of nanoplastics straight into your food.
Just 3 minutes can release ~14 billion nanoplastic particles per square inch from some “microwave-safe” containers. A typical quart-size container? Hundreds of billions of particles in one meal.

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3/4 Simple fix: microwave in glass or ceramic only. Use plastic for cold storage.
Hot food + plastic is no longer harmless background exposure.

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@DaniBeckman You are a person of the world - and to the world you go!!! Good luck!

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@NTFabiano For those who are busy / short attention span just read this: In some containers, **just 3 minutes of microwave heating released up to 4.22 million microplastic particles and 2.11 billion nanoplastic particles per square centimeter of plastic surface** into the food simulant.

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Sometimes we “guesstimate” and our guesses are right - or they are wrong. Therefore, I always do some searches. My intuition was that eating hot stuff from plastic spoons / plastic containers isn’t good. Here is what Perplexity told me:

Yes. Both eating very hot soup with a plastic spoon and heating food in plastic containers (especially in the microwave) can noticeably increase how many microplastics and plastic‑related chemicals you ingest.

## What happens with a hot plastic spoon in soup?

When plastic is exposed to heat, it becomes softer and more prone to shedding tiny fragments and leaching additives.

- Studies and expert reviews note that plastic utensils shed **hundreds of microplastic particles per use**, and that higher food temperatures, plus oil/salt/acid, increase this shedding.[6][1]
- Hot liquids and foods accelerate breakdown; leaving a plastic spoon in simmering broth or very hot soup can deform the surface, which both sheds particles and increases chemical leaching.
- The absolute dose from an occasional hot-soup-with-plastic-spoon event is still small compared with all other daily microplastic exposures (water, air, dust, packaging), but it does add to your cumulative intake.

In practice, using a metal, wood, or high‑quality heat‑resistant silicone spoon for hot soup essentially removes this particular source.

## What happens when you microwave food in plastic?

This is a much bigger source than just eating with a plastic spoon.

- A 2023 study on plastic containers and reusable pouches found that **microwave heating released the highest amounts of micro- and nanoplastics of all conditions tested** (vs refrigeration or room‑temperature storage).
- In some containers, **just 3 minutes of microwave heating released up to 4.22 million microplastic particles and 2.11 billion nanoplastic particles per square centimeter of plastic surface** into the food simulant.
- Reviews and NGO summaries of the scientific literature report that microwaving plastic packaging can release **hundreds of thousands to over 500,000 microplastic particles** into a single portion of food, and substantially increase migration of plastic additives like BPA and phthalates.
- Heating any plastic (microwave, hot liquids, dishwashers) speeds up breakdown and migration; visible softening, warping, or cloudiness of containers is a sign of this degradation.

Even “microwave‑safe” plastics still release particles and chemicals when heated; “microwave‑safe” only means the container won’t melt or catch fire, not that it doesn’t leach.

## How big is the added risk?

We are already exposed to microplastics from water, food, air, and dust, so the key question is “relative contribution”:

- Everyday kitchen plastics (containers, utensils, chopping boards, non‑stick coatings) collectively contribute a measurable fraction of dietary microplastics.
- Among kitchen sources, **microwaving food in plastic** appears to be one of the more intense, short‑burst exposures compared with simply storing food in plastic at room temperature.
- A single plastic spoon in soup is a smaller source than routinely microwaving in plastic, but it is clearly not zero, and the effect grows if the utensil is old, scratched, or left in hot liquid for long periods.

Mechanistically, microplastics themselves plus leached additives (e.g., BPA, phthalates, other plasticizers) are the concern for endocrine, inflammatory, and possibly carcinogenic pathways, though human health outcome data are still evolving.

## Simple ways to reduce exposure

If your goal is to meaningfully lower microplastic intake from these specific behaviors:

- Do not microwave food in plastic
- Transfer food to **glass or ceramic** before microwaving; cover with a glass or ceramic lid, plate, or a paper towel instead of plastic wrap.
- Use non‑plastic utensils for hot foods
- Prefer stainless steel, wood.

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Genomic Press/Allele Books
Learn more 👉 https://t.co/AMwSDMYkWl

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They called her the pretty one. She was a model and she was brilliant. THE ILLNESS DID NOT CARE.
She was beloved. She was radiant. She married the love of her life. THE ILLNESS DID NOT CARE.

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A cinematic, amazing book that brings to the world a real-life story of love, migration, growth, tragedy, illness, and hope.
Visit: https://t.co/VAG3uMtrqj

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🧵Dr. Walss-Bass has written an extraordinary book, a one of a kind intimate voyage through the reality of schizophrenia, the cancer of mental illness
Daniel R. Weinberger, M.D.