According to scientists, discarded polystyrene broken down into microplastics could be to blame for the population’s growing resistance to antibiotics.

These microplastics are home to contaminated and free-floating genetic materials that help bacteria to withstand antibiotics. 

The scientists’ research revealed that aged microplastics were able to develop the materials needed to equip bacteria against antibiotics, making it harder and harder for antibiotics to do their job in our bodies. This also reveals just how many microplastics the population is unknowingly consuming, creating a widespread problem of antibiotic resistance that has no solution yet.

This is just one symptom of all of the microplastics that find their way into our everyday life, as they prove a real threat to humanity in many other ways. This provides a problem for the future of antibiotic use as they may become completely useless in the near future, especially as more and more microplastics are leached into our food, water, and products. Even wildlife and marine animals are suffering from microplastic pollution in ways that we still do not understand.

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