“ The researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida said the mutation affects the spike protein -- a structure on the outside of the virus that it uses to get into cells. If the findings are confirmed, it would be the first time someone has demonstrated that changes seen in the virus have significance for the pandemic.

"Viruses with this mutation were much more infectious than those without the mutation in the cell culture system we used," Scripps Research virologist Hyeryun Choe, who helped lead the study, said in a statement.”

Mutation could make coronavirus more infectious, study suggests - CNN