It may finally be time to amend Mr. McGuire's famous advice to Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate: "I just want to say one word to you. Just one word... microplastics." It turns out microplastics are on everyone's minds these days. And in their minds. How much plastic is in your brain? According to some recent research, about seven grams. That's how much it takes to make a disposable plastic spoon—although, in 2025, it feels a hell of lot more like a fork. "Some of the researchers’ other findings have also prompted widespread concern. In the study, the brains of people with dementia had far more microplastics than the brains of people without it. In papers last year, the researchers showed that microplastics were present in human testes and placentas. Other scientists have also documented them in blood, semen, breast milk and even a baby’s first stool." NYT(Gift Article): What Are Microplastics Doing to Our Bodies? This Lab Is Racing to Find Out. "It’s not yet clear what effect this amount of plastic has on human health, but it’s enough to cause alarm." As Matthew Campen, a toxicologist, explains: "'I don’t think I’ve talked to a single person who’s said: ‘Fantastic! Love to know that there’s all that plastic in my brain.'" (Of course, he hasn't talked to RFK Jr yet...) 2ScareBNB"The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major victory on Monday night, lifting a restraining order that had prevented the mass deportation of migrants to an El Salvador prison under an 18th-century wartime law. By a 5–4 vote on the shadow docket, the justices crushed the migrants’ sweeping class action in D.C. and forced them to proceed with narrower suits through more hostile courts in Texas." Mark Joseph Stern: The Supreme Court’s New 5–4 Bailout for Trump Couldn’t Be More Ominous. 3Checking Your 401(EKG)For a few hours this morning, the stock market was soaring on the perception that trade deals could be made quickly. That rebound has lost its steam at the moment (in part because of more threats of increased tariffs). But volatility is the name of the game when no one understands the logic behind the moves being made. 4Dude, Where's My InternetAI results are increasingly dominating web search (in the cases when people are still searching and not simply asking ChatGPT). That change will completely remake the internet experience. And that is really bad news for sites that depending on search traffic. Bloomberg (Gift Article): Google AI Search Shift Leaves Website Makers Feeling ‘Betrayed.' 5Extra, ExtraThrowing Grade Shade: "There was once a time when America’s lowest-performing students were improving just as much as the country’s top students. Despite their low scores, these students at the bottom made slow but steady gains on national tests for much of the 2000s. It was one sign that the U.S. education system was working, perhaps not spectacularly, but at least enough to help struggling students keep pace with the gains of the most privileged and successful. Today, the country’s lowest-scoring students are in free fall." NYT (Gift Article): The Pandemic Is Not the Only Reason U.S. Students Are Losing Ground. (You don't need to have high test scores to understand that this will only increase our already massive income inequality.) 6Bottom of the NewsI know, I know. So much bad news. So let's end on a positive. Madonna and Elton John make peace after decades-long strained relationship. (What can I say, it's not easy finding a positive these days...)
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