Inside Health Where does air pollution go inside our body?
Jan 27, 2026
Alvaro Marta, a biomedical engineer developing a gel to regrow tooth enamel. Professor Stephen Griffin, a cancer virologist exploring how mRNA vaccines can boost immune responses in cancer. Norris Lu, clinical lecturer who demonstrates blood microscopy for pollution. Professor Jonathan Grigg, paediatric respiratory expert studying how traffic particles enter blood. They discuss pollution moving from roads into the bloodstream, masks cutting particle uptake, mRNA and cancer immunity, and enamel-regenerating gels.
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Hour Beside Busy Road As Exposure Test
- James Gallagher stood for about an hour beside a very busy London junction to inhale traffic exhaust as part of a study.
- He and Professor Jonathan Grigg used that location as a real-world exposure chamber to test where breathed particles go.
Black Carbon Detected On Red Blood Cells
- Researchers found black carbon particles on red blood cell smears after road exposure and in all volunteers tested.
- The study shows these particles can appear in blood quickly, often within an hour of exposure.
How Particles Cross From Lung To Blood
- Tiny nanoparticles can escape lung macrophages or overwhelm them and seep into the circulation.
- Once in blood, particles can travel to organs like the placenta, implying body-wide distribution.