![How and Why Microplastics Invade Our Everyday Lives](https://cdn.magzter.com/1357655529/1650527277/articles/e2JLBP9jA1650627960054/Ocean-Cleanup-Microplastics-Great-Lakes-National-Oceanography-Centre-Lisa-Erdle-The-5-Gyres-Institute.jpg)
The abundance of single-use plastic items such as water bottles, grocery bags, and packaging materials has soared since the 1950s. These objects break down into microplastics, or tiny bits of plastic less than 5 millimeters long (less than half the width of your pinky fingernail), which are now ubiquitous.
No one knows exactly how much microplastic has made it into the environment, but in 2021, an international team of multidisciplinary scientists estimated that there were 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics in the world's upper oceans alone, or the equivalent of roughly 30 billion plastic water bottles.
Because of their minute size, microplastics aren't easy to track. For many years, researchers assumed these tiny bits of trash entered rivers, where they were carried downstream to the ocean in a relatively short amount of time. But that's not actually the case. According to a new study published in Science Advances, it's estimated that microplastics may remain in rivers for more than 300 years before entering the ocean. This means the microplastics in rivers have much greater potential to cause harm to humans and the environment than scientists previously thought.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2022-Ausgabe von Popular Mechanics.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2022-Ausgabe von Popular Mechanics.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
![Our New Moon Epoch](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/9cYENwpph1720079873361/OUR-NEW-MOON-EPOCH.jpg)
Our New Moon Epoch
WHEN HUMANS GET INVOLVED IN places they weren't invited, things start to change. The Moon is no different.
![The Surprising Drama Behind the Decimal Point](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/tKrVTqVym1720079694471/THE-SURPRISING-DRAMA-BEHIND-THE-DECIMAL-POINT.jpg)
The Surprising Drama Behind the Decimal Point
WHEN GERMAN MATHEMATICIAN Christopher Clavius introduced the world to the humble decimal point in 1593, he used it in one table, and never mentioned it or used it again.
![Rapid Evolution](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/swYlbq4jH1720079514912/RAPID-EVOLUTION.jpg)
Rapid Evolution
ON APRIL 26, 1986, THE No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukrainethen part of the Soviet Union-exploded, sending a massive plume of radiation into the sky. Nearly four decades later, the facility and much of the surrounding area remain uninhabited-by humans, at least.
![THE OBELISK "LIFEFORMS" HIDING IN HUMANS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/f7UcRuybi1720079239568/THE-OBELISK-LIFEFORMS-HIDING-IN-HUMANS.jpg)
THE OBELISK "LIFEFORMS" HIDING IN HUMANS
WE'RE NOT SURE IF IT'S EXCITING OR not that scientists have just discovered new \"lifeforms\" inside our bodies. Tiny bits of RNA, smaller than a virus, colonize bacteria inside our mouths and guts and have the power to transfer information that can be read by a cell.
![The First AntiShip Ballistic Missile Attack](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/g9yijewZs1720079059069/THE-FIRST-ANTISHIP-BALLISTIC-MISSILE-ATTACK.jpg)
The First AntiShip Ballistic Missile Attack
HE U.S. NAVY DESTROYER MASON (DDG87) was wrapping up a mission rescuing a tanker from pirates in the Gulf of Aden when the situation sharply escalated. The ship's radar detected at least one-or possibly two-missiles moving toward its position at supersonic speeds, each loaded with well over a half ton of explosives.
![HOW TO GET STARTED SOLDERING](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/vLBtQcBIu1720078528433/HOW-TO-GET-STARTED-SOLDERING.jpg)
HOW TO GET STARTED SOLDERING
Soldering is rapidly becoming the skill of a bygone era. Much like the ability to drive a car with a manual transmission, read a map, or write a check, younger generations are learning less about how to work with their hands-and it's time for that to change.
![AFTER YOU DIE, A UNIVERSE EATS YOUR BODY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/UMkLBYMvz1720077923798/AFTER-YOU-DIE-A-UNIVERSE-EATS-YOUR-BODY.jpg)
AFTER YOU DIE, A UNIVERSE EATS YOUR BODY
SCIENTISTS ARE UNRAVELING THE SECRETS OF THE NECROBIOME THE ECOSYSTEM THAT TAKES OVER OUR CORPSES AFTER DEATH.
![SHARPENING YOUR TOOLS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/6wEM0DBFP1720077416786/SHARPENING-YOUR-TOOLS.jpg)
SHARPENING YOUR TOOLS
TOOLS LOSE THEIR EDGE AND BECOME DULL. That's a fact of their existence.
![CATALYTIC CONVERTER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/mUnDt-BYB1720076945898/CATALYTIC-CONVERTER.jpg)
CATALYTIC CONVERTER
THERE'S AN ARMY OF THIEVES COMING FOR YOUR
![A BLISTERING INFERNO. A WHIRLING TORNADO. A SHOCKING CRASH](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2250/1739318/x1ID2DCDF1720075921118/A-BLISTERING-INFERNO-A-WHIRLING-TORNADO-A-SHOCKING-CRASH.jpg)
A BLISTERING INFERNO. A WHIRLING TORNADO. A SHOCKING CRASH
AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A CRITICAL LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST RAGING WILDFIRES. BUT INCREASINGLY EXTREME BLAZES AND A HORRIFIC ACCIDENT HAVE MANY WONDERING HOW WE'LL ADAPT TO FIRES OF THE FUTURE.