Pinpointing the ‘silent’ mutations that gave the coronavirus an evolutionary edge – EurekAlert

DURHAM, N.C. — We know that the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 crisis lived harmlessly in bats and other wildlife before it jumped the species barrier and spilled over to humans.
Now, researchers at Duke University have identified a number of “silent” mutations in the roughly 30,000 letters of the virus’s genetic code that helped it thrive once it made the leap — and possibly helped set the stage for the global pandemic. The subtle changes involved how the virus folded its RNA molecules wit…

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