Across the world's waterways, microplastics have become an inescapable presence, and science has been racing to understand what they mean for the generations that follow. A new critical review cautions that when the offspring of exposed parents show signs of harm, the instinct to blame direct particle inheritance may outpace what the evidence actually supports. The distinction is not merely technical — it shapes how humanity understands risk, responsibility, and the long reach of pollution through living systems. Clearer methods and humbler claims, the authors suggest, are the foundation any m