News
Microplastics research on children’s tv
To raise awareness about microplastics among young viewers, the Dutch television news program for children (Het Jeugdjournaal) made a video in which they ...
MOMENTUM Scientific Conference & Stakeholder Meeting
Register for the MOMENTUM Scientific Conference and Stakeholder Meeting! The Dutch MOMENTUM Microplastics and Human Health project brought together over 25 ...
In Memoriam Petra Krystek
We are deeply saddened about the news that Dr. Petra Krystek passed away on April 8, 2025. Petra was a dedicated, friendly and warm scientist who was part ...
Is it safe to heat food in plastic containers?
A lot of videos on social media suggest that heating food in a plastic container in the microwave can make you sick or even cause deaths. But is this ...
Amsterdam Chemistry Innovation Day 2025
This year’s edition of ACID (Amsterdam Chemistry Innovation Day) brought together 400 attendees from industry, government, and academia. The event included ...
Unraveling the complexities of microplastics
What happens when plastic particles enter our bodies? And what makes studying microplastics so complex? Belgian newspaper De Morgen explored these and ...
MOMENTUM research at SOT 2025 conference
A successful week for MOMENTUM at SOT 2025, this year’s annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology! Various MOMENTUM researchers presented their results ...
How to keep microplastics out of your body?
Microplastics are everywhere, especially indoors. We breathe them in, they enter our lungs and from there they can spread to other organs. Barbro Melgert ...
Plastic of the future is made of sugar
MOMENTUM researchers Marja Lamoree from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Gert-Jan Gruter from Universiteit van Amsterdam have been nominated for the ...
What are microplastics and chemicals doing to our health?
Juliette Legler, coordinator of MOMENTUM and toxicologist at Universiteit Utrecht, talked about her research and engaged with the audience in a lecture by ...
Microplastics reported in human brains
Scientists have found large quantities of microplastics in human brains. They examined samples from deceased individuals and found that microplastics and ...
Is the Plastics Treaty a solution to microplastics?
We are responsible for 400 billion kilograms of plastic waste every year, 9.5 billion of which ends up in nature. 175 countries are therefore working on ...
MOMENTUM Consortium Meeting
It was great to welcome our MOMENTUM partners for the consortium meeting in Utrecht over the past two days. All work packages and breakthrough projects ...
Stakeholder dialogue about microplastics
Participants from more than 40 different organisations, representing universities, research institutes, industry, ministries, and interests groups, came ...
MOMENTUM Solutions Roadmap
In MOMENTUM, we aim to unravel the human health effects of micro- and nanoplastics and find solutions. MOMENTUM partners have developed a roadmap featuring ...
MOMENTUM research at microplastics symposium
MOMENTUM researcher Irene Gosselink from Universiteit Maastricht was recently invited to present her work at the Microplastic and Human Health Symposium in ...
Can nanoplastics transfer through the food chain?
MOMENTUM partners at Leiden University explored this question by monitoring the uptake and transfer of tiny plastic particles from water through lettuce to ...
Silent Invaders: discussion about microplastics and human health
MOMENTUM researchers Emma Kasteel and Annemijne van den Berg were recently invited at BetaBreak, the science discussion platform of the University of ...
How dangerous are microplastics? Experts answer questions
How dangerous are microplastics? And why would they affect your health? Dutch news programme EenVandaag asked these and other questions to MOMENTUM ...
MOMENTUM research at Betweter Festival
MOMENTUM researcher Nienke Vrisekoop from UMC Utrecht performed at the recent Betweter Festival in Utrecht! Nienke talked about microplastics and what we ...
Micro2024 conference on plastic pollution
MOMENTUM researchers Laurens Mandemaker and Annemijne van den Berg were present at the MICRO 2024 conference on plastic pollution in Lanzarote. Laurens ...
Juliette Legler wins EUROTOX 2024 Lecture Award
We’re excited to share some MOMENTUM highlights from EUROTOX Congress 2024, the annual congress of European societies of toxicology, held in Copenhagen ...
Should we ban plastics to save our health?
MOMENTUM’s Nienke Vrisekoop discussed this question on Dutch radio channel NPO Radio 1 last night. She was the main guest in the radio show “De ...
Momentum research on Dutch radio
Following the recent publication of her group, MOMENTUM researcher Marja Lamoree was interviewed by Dutch radio show “Met het Oog op Morgen”. In their ...
MOMENTUM Consortium Meeting
Our consortium meeting was a great success! We’ve had two days full of inspiring talks, useful discussions, and two poster sessions putting the spotlight ...
Presence of micro- and nanoplastics in human blood confirmed
A new study by MOMENTUM partners at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University Medical Center confirms the presence of micro- and ...
Meet the Crew: Irene Gosselink
Who is Irene Gosselink? “I’m a PhD candidate at Maastricht University and TNO, almost entering my final year. My background is quite diverse. I studied ...
In Memoriam Dick Vethaak
Prof. Dr. Dick Vethaak, our dear colleague, friend and co-coordinator of MOMENTUM, passed away on June 1, 2024. An international expert in the field of ...
Do you eat a credit card of plastic every week?
MOMENTUM researcher Nelly Saenen talks about her microplastics research in an educational video by Universiteit van Vlaanderen. In the video, she explains ...
Microplastics found in testicles
Researchers from the University of New Mexico have found microplastics in human and canine testicles for the first time. The results were published in the ...
Global increase in plastic production expected
The global production of plastic is expected to double, or even triple, between now and 2050. This will inevitably result in more plastic pollution and ...
ZonMw magazine featuring Dick Vethaak
Driven by the desire for a clean living environment, Dick Vethaak has had a profound impact with his research. He is one of the frontrunners of research ...
Meet the Crew: Josefine Geiger
In February, we celebrated the kick-off of the seven new breakthrough projects funded by ZonMw. A good opportunity to get to know the project leader of one ...
“Working together with other partners opened up great opportunities”
Martin Brits is leaving the MOMENTUM consortium. For the past three years, he has worked as a research associate at the VU Amsterdam in the group of Marja ...
ZonMw videos on breakthrough projects
Since 2018, researchers have been working hard to identify and minimise the health effects of micro- and nanoplastics. Initial projects have shown that ...
Microplastics found in arteries – cause for both concern and caution
A recent study found that the presence of micro- and nanoplastics in human arteries was associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or ...
In Memoriam Ingeborg Kooter
It is with a deeply saddened heart that we received the news that our dear colleague dr. ir. Ingeborg Kooter passed away on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. ...
How may microbes on the surface of plastics influence human health?
In which ways can microbes on the surface of plastics affect human health? And which pieces of the puzzle need to be solved in order to include the ...
Race against time to unravel health effects of microplastics
The Washington Post published an article this week discussing the current progress and challenges in microplastics research. Back in 2015, it was ...
Documentary and New York Times article explore health risks of microplastics
A new documentary exploring the growing threat of microplastics for human health premiers at the SXSW Film Festival this month. The film titled “Plastic ...
