By Chris Stokel-Walker
Small pieces of plastic do marine animals no good at allTunatura/Getty
An army of tiny magnetic coils could dissolve microplastics from water, and possibly help us clean up waterways and oceans.
Microplastics are used in all sorts of cosmetics and household products, and they have spread into the ocean. Once there, they they can damage the environment. For instance, they can be ingested by marine life.
Some people have suggested ways of getting plastic out of the ocean, including a team for the Netherlands that wants to use a string of sausage-shaped floats to trap substantial pieces of …