{
  "id": 5981029,
  "title": "Israeli scientists develop huge sponge to mop up and ‘eat’ oil spills",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/israeli-scientists-develop-huge-sponge-to-mop-up-and-eat-oil-spills",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-06T13:03:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Times of Israel",
    "slug": "the-times-of-israel",
    "url": "https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-develop-huge-sponge-to-mop-up-and-eat-oil-spills/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Scientists at Ben-Gurion University have developed a sponge that can absorb large amounts of oil. The sponge is made from plant material that has been enriched with nutrients to attract bacteria that consume oil.\n\nAccording to The Times of Israel, this sponge can absorb 100 times its own mass in crude oil or fuel in just seconds.\n\nThe Jerusalem Post report does not appear to be related to the development of the oil-absorbing sponge.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Times of Israel",
        "title": "Israeli scientists find ‘multitasking’ gene controls mood and metabolism in mice",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/israeli-scientists-find-multitasking-gene-controls-mood-and",
        "published": "2026-09-05T04:15:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Israeli scientists find carp can resist a deadly virus",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/ahead-of-rosh-hashanah-israeli-scientists-find-carp-can-resist-a",
        "published": "2026-09-05T07:34:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}