With funding from the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, Dr. Heather Allen of The Ohio State University published a study exploring how polystyrene nanoplastics—tiny plastic particles formed from the breakdown of larger plastics—interact with biological membrane components and potentially disrupt cellular function. The research demonstrated that nanoplastics can embed themselves into lipid films that mimic lung surfactants and cell membranes, altering their structure and potentially impairing critical biological processes like respiration, nutrient absorption, and cellular communication. These findings deepen our understanding of how nanoplastics may accumulate in living organisms and interfere with health at the molecular level. The study, conducted by Dr. Allen and her co-authors, is published in Environmental Science & Technology and can be accessed here (Allen et al., 2020).