The 9th Ocean Plastics Research Seminar was held on Friday, July 11, 2025.
This research meeting is aimed at facilitating information exchange on Marine Science group. It is organized primarily by the Ocean Science Research Group within the Environment and Food Unit and is held regularly throughout the year.
At the 9th meeting, Professor Ayami Matsushima from the Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Kyushu University, delivered a lecture titled “Complex Transcriptional Activity of Estrogen Receptors Induced by Plastic Raw Materials, Bisphenol Derivatives.”
We were able to hear a fascinating talk covering the history of research on hormone-like effects of bisphenols present in the environment and their mechanisms of action at the molecular level. The presentation also highlighted the potential for this research to evolve into drug discovery in the future, raising expectations for further advancements.
The free discussion session was lively, covering a wide range of topics including the distribution of bisphenol-based polymers such as polycarbonates and epoxy resins as microplastics in soil, as well as their metabolism in living organisms. With increasing attention on environmental pollution caused by PFAS, research on synthetic compounds in the environment is expected to become even more important.
From this fiscal year onward, this meeting will continue under the Environmental Plastics Research Complex (EPReC), a socially-oriented research and development program launched by the FS under the Social Impact Framework (SIF) initiative.
To more broadly reflect issues related to plastics in the environment, the name of the meeting will be changed to “Environmental Plastics Research Meeting” starting next time. We hope to see many participants in future meetings