One mutation may have set the coronavirus up to become a global menace
A study pinpoints a key change that may have put a bat coronavirus on the path to infect people
![greater horseshoe bats hanging from cave ceiling](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/070921_EG_COVID-bat-protein_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
It's still unknown where the coronavirus came from, but a new study pinpoints a mutation that may have put a bat coronavirus on the path to becoming a human pathogen. The greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, shown) is one bat species known to carry coronaviruses.
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