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Your Brain On

Your Brain On

Your Brain On... Microplastics

May 27, 2026 · 31m

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Headlines warned us about microplastics in our brains. A chemist says the study may have been measuring brain fat instead. In 2025, a study claiming microplastics accumulate in human brain tissue dominated our feeds. We covered it. Then Dr. Michelle Wong, a chemical scientist and science communicator, flagged a problem with the methodology. So we went to the primary literature, read the critique, and brought in one of the first scientists to publicly challenge the findings: Dr. Oliver Jones, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at RMIT University in Melbourne. In this episode, we unpack what went wrong with the measurement method, what it means for the broader microplastics conversation, and…