Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.
Analysis of young sable shearwaters, a migratory bird that travels between Australia’s Lord Howe Island and Japan, has found that plastic waste is causing damage to seabird chicks not apparent to the naked eye, including decay of the stomach lining, cell rupture and neurodegeneration.
Dozens of the chicks – which spend 90 days in burrows before making their first journey – were examined by researchers from the University of Tasmania. Many had mistakenly been fed plastic waste by their parents and built up high levels of plastic in their stomachs.
Blood tests indicated that the plastic pollution had left the chicks with severe health issues, disrupting the stomach, liver, kidneys and brain, according to the study published in the journal Science Advances.
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Them: plastic removal surgery! Only $236.99 for each eye!
Them: take Plastowy once a week to reduce the plastics in your testicles. Don’t got testicles yet? Try Plastowy today! Side effects include but are not limited to mild headaches, blueing of the skin, mild death, heavy death, deadly death and really fucking dead. Consult your obstetrician if you’re pretty sure those are new. You know what we’re talking about.
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