- 🎓⚕️🧪🔬📰 The way we do science today is very vulnerable to clickbait and sensationalist headlines Remember the microplastics in your brain, in male testes and in your bloodstream? It didn't make sense with what we knew, but it made great entertainment. #BadScience www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- “The controversial feature of this article is how the Guardian … came to frame its reporting around the comments of a former Dow chemist. Dow is a… plastics manufacturer with a vested interest in casting doubt on the science of plastics … and human health. “ www.linkedin.com/posts/megan-...Feb 1, 2026 06:20
- Thanks for sharing this. I think my criticism of the vulnerability of science to sensationalist headlines still applies. I do not question the negative impacts on plastics on human health, nor the excessive amounts of plastics poured into the environment. bsky.app/profile/germ...
- There are several resulting discussions: 1) rigor of scientific research, which among scientists is always under review, though one might not know this by reading most news articles 2) if results are undercut by researchers receiving money from parties with something to gain, such as DOW chemical
- /2. 3) if media creates sensationalism using eye-catching headlines, e.g., “bombshell”
- /3. And on January 26, 3026, the Lancet, a renowned medical journal, published the following, which tackles the subject of health harm from accumulated plastic
- /4. Thank you for calling attention to the replies by scientists to the Guardian ‘bombshell’ article. My own thoughts about plastic harm is that it is similar to that caused by longstanding use of leaded water pipes - while bringing cleaned water without an immediate harm, over time problems arise …
