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    "story_id": "mp-2026-07-15-010",
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    "headline": "Microplastics Reach the Animals at Two Thousand Meters",
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    "dek": "A two-ocean comparison detected particles in 92 percent of sampled hydrothermal-vent snails and mussels.",
    "summary": "A two-ocean comparison detected particles in 92 percent of sampled hydrothermal-vent snails and mussels.",
    "body_text": "KRIBB and KIOST researchers analyzed snails and mussels collected at hydrothermal vents in the North Fiji Basin and Central Indian Ridge, both more than 2,000 meters deep. They reported microplastics in 92 percent of animals, averaging 3.42 particles per individual, with feeding strategy shaping where particles accumulated. Weight-normalized concentrations in the Indian Ocean specimens reached as much as 14.7 times the southwestern Pacific level. The study documents sampled animals at two sites; it should not be read as a complete census of the deep ocean.",
    "why_it_matters": "A two-ocean comparison detected particles in 92 percent of sampled hydrothermal-vent snails and mussels.",
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      "The study documents sampled animals at two sites; it should not be read as a complete census of the deep ocean."
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    "tags": [
      "microplastics",
      "deep sea",
      "hydrothermal vents",
      "pollution"
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-07-15-010",
      "title": "National Research Council of Science and Technology via Newswise: Microplastics in deep-sea vent animals",
      "publisher": "National Research Council of Science and Technology via Newswise",
      "url": "https://www.newswise.com/articles/microplastics-reach-even-2-000-meters-below-the-ocean-surface-study-finds-first-cross-ocean-study-reveals-how-microplastics-accumulate-in-deep-sea-hydrothermal-vent-animals",
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      "published_at": "2026-07-15T00:00:00.000-04:00",
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    "title": "Microplastics Reach the Animals at Two Thousand Meters",
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