Plastic shopping bags are turning up inside human arteries

The plaque lining a human artery is usually composed of fats and calcium, but pathologists have begun finding a synthetic interloper embedded in the mix. Using infrared light to identify the unique vibrational fingerprints of polymers, researchers in Italy discovered microscopic shards of polyethylene and PVC in the carotid arteries of over half the patients they studied. These fragments are often smaller than five micrometers—less than the width of a single red blood cell—allowing them to migrate deep into the body's intimate architecture.