US scientists find coronavirus mutation that makes virus weaker

A research team at Arizona State University (US) has detected a unique mutation in the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that could make the virus weaker. The scientists found that in one of the samples they were examining part of the genome of the virus had been permanently deleted. The genome of a virus is its genetic code which determines how the virus multiplies and attacks host cells.

Their research was published in the Journal of Virology and has been peer-reviewed, the ASU said in a statement on its website. The World Health Organisation has also expressed interest in the findings. During the SARS pandemic of 2003, the virus became weaker through a mutation and eventually stopped circulating in humans.

.Source: Samaa