Once harmless, the Zika virus became lethal after a single genetic mutation
When the Zika virus was first isolated from a Ugandan forest monkey in 1947 and found in mildly ill humans a few years later, it was hardly worth a mention in the annals of human disease.
What a difference a mutation can make.
In a new round of genetic sleuthing, Chinese researchers have pinpointed the single genetic change that has made the Zika virus a fearsome plague to pregnant women and their babies across the Americas, responsible for
