University of Missouri scientists are battling against an emerging enemy of human health: nanoplastics. Much smaller in size than the diameter of an average human hair, nanoplastics are invisible to the naked eye.

Linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in people, nanoplastics continue to build up, largely unnoticed, in the world’s bodies of water. The challenge remains to develop a cost-effective solution to get rid of nanoplastics while leaving clean water behind.

That’s where Mizzou comes in. Recently, researchers at the university created a new liquid-based solution that eliminates more than 98% of these microscopic plastic particles from water.