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Scientists have reported in a preliminary study what they believe is the first significant mutation of the coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease. But experts told Newsweek it is unlikely the finding will jeopardize efforts to create a vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

The authors of the study examined the genetic make-up of 106 samples of SARS-CoV-2, the name of the coronavirus which causes COVID-19, from a database.

They compared these with 39 genome sequences of SARS, the virus which triggers severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and started an outbreak in 2002. The complete or near-complete data on SARS-CoV-2 spanned 54 records from the US., 35 form China, three from Spain, two for Brazil, and one each from Australia, Finland, India, Italy, Nepal, South Korea, and Sweden.

The team published their findings on the website bioRxiv, meaning it hasn't undergone the rigorous peer review process required to publish in scientific journals. Releasing studies this way enables scientists to prompt debate on a topic, which can be helpful in a fast-changing situation like a pandemic.

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