{
  "id": 11229257,
  "title": "Sex-like DNA exchange in starving bacteria occurs over 100 times more often than spontaneous mutations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/sex-like-dna-exchange-in-starving-bacteria-occurs-over-100-times-more",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-01T16:00:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sex-dna-exchange-starving-bacteria.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions. The findings were published in Molecular…",
  "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."
}