A simple trick for vanquishing microplastics

Hello and welcome to New Scientist’s weekly round-up of all things science and technology. Today, we’re looking at how live music impacts your emotions, the benefits of looking after your skin, and a possible new weight loss treatment.

Boiling tap water can remove 80 per cent of the microplastics in it

Are you worried about microplastics in your water? The health impacts plastic pieces between 0.001 to 5 millimetres in diameter are still being studied, but researchers suspect they are damaging to humans. Now it seems there is a simple way to get rid of the vast majority of them from tap water – you just have to boil it for a few minutes.

Hard-to-digest starch supplements may help people lose weight

Resistant starch, a form of carbohydrate found in beans, wholegrains, raw oats and green bananas, along with cooked and cooled starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and rice, could help with weight loss. This type of starch takes longer to digest, and in a small trial in which people were asked to take it as a supplement, it was found to .

We finally know why live music makes us so emotional

There is something about live music that just can’t be matched by recordings, whether it is the energy of the performers and the crowd, the volume pumped out by massive speakers, or just the chance to hear your favourite hits in a new light. In fact, researchers have found that live performances appear to activate certain regions of the brain linking sounds and emotions, while recorded music shows much less activity.

More from New Scientist

• We’re running a series of articles about eclipses, ahead of the total solar eclipse coming to North America on 8 April.
• Our magazine cover story details the surprising importance of looking after your skin, which could help with everything from ageing to cognitive decline.
• Want to know more about the revolution in genetic understanding? It’s not too late to sign up to become an instant expert at our event in London on 9 March.

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Jacob Aron, News Editor