{
  "id": 1448102,
  "title": "Animals have been eating nature’s original bioplastic for millions of years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/animals-have-been-eating-natures-original-bioplastic-for-millions-of",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-17T05:34:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ScienceDaily",
    "slug": "sciencedaily",
    "url": "https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260815064759.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Nature invented biodegradable plastic long before humans did—and animals may have been feeding on it for hundreds of millions of years. Researchers discovered that dozens of animal species possess enzymes capable of breaking down microbial bioplastics called PHAs, a talent once thought to belong only to microorganisms.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}