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.
Seagulls?!? That’s just how they are, fam.
Owlzheimer’s.
Gotta laugh to avoid the constant weeping and/or screaming.
Great, now study how it affects humans.
I’m particularly interested in what sort of double-whammy compounding effect it might have on Boomers who are already brain-damaged from lead poisoning.
The pesticide poisoning might counteract that. Although probably not.
TBH if I get any dumber I might have to start looking into whether it’s all that plastic as well.
The only habitable planet anywhere near that area, but tourists are gradually turning it to a pile of trash. I won’t visit again until someone cleans it up. Giving it 2/5 stars.
Yeah Earth sucks.
Earth chicks suck.
No problem, I’ll just eat less plastic!
…oh wait.
commenting to boost activity on this
Fuck it, have my updoot, lawl
I don’t think Lemmy works like that.
Do you comment here often?
