Microplastics have only recently become an issue outside the scientific world. A pioneering researcher in this field, Christian Laforsch is primarily interested in the long-term hazards they pose - something that could assume critical importance for us in the future. Microplastics can be found everywhere: in snow up in the mountains, in our rivers - and in the air that we breathe. They comprise particles so minute that they can only be seen under a microscope.
Professor Christian Laforsch and his team from the University of Bayreuth have devised their own customized instruments to track down microplastics in water, the air and farmland soil. They also want to find out how dangerous they are for humans and our environment. Seema Agarwal is a chemist who knows the problem all too well from her native India. She's working on the development of organic-based plastics that are 100% biodegradable. At the same time, she's trying to reach out to the chemical industry - because in her eyes, the obvious and ultimate goal is to prevent microplastics from being created in the first place.