Microplastics spontaneously generate harmful molecules when they touch water, a Columbia study finds.

Contact with water produces reactive oxygen species, radicals known to damage cells and tissue.

The research, led by Columbia University, was published in the journal Nature.

It was led by chemist Wei Min with postdoctoral researcher Naixin Qian.

Water molecules become chemically active on hydrophobic plastic surfaces, enabling electron transfer.

Qian said it happens in bottled water and when particles enter the bloodstream.

The finding offers a chemical explanation for how microplastics could harm living things.

Read the full article for more details on the microplastics study.