viral sex
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.05 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Bacterial and viral sex, we believe, evolved in response to nucleic acid-threatening radiation and led to the spread of genes as "small genetic entities" in protected packets [Sonea and Panisett, 1983]."
- "Once each of the eight gene segments have been sequenced, he says, it will be possible to recreate viral sex in the lab, inserting one segment at a time into an everyday human flu strain."
- "Phages are well known for mistakenly incorporating bits of DNA from one host and carrying them to the next, thereby spreading genetic material rapidly between their host bacteria. In the marine environment, this behaviour, which has been referred to as 'viral sex', seems to be rife, with viruses capturing host genes and passing them around the community"