Science News Roundup: NASA rover Perseverance on track for daredevil landing on Mars; Planet Earth its quietest in decades as lockdowns reduce seismic noise and more

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance, the most advanced astrobiology lab ever flown to another world, is due to make a landing attempt on the ancient lake bed after a seven-month journey from Earth.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

NASA rover Perseverance on track for daredevil landing on Mars

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance, the most advanced robotic astrobiology lab ever flown to another world, neared the end of its seven-month, 293-million-mile (470-million-km) journey on Wednesday, hours away from a daredevil landing attempt on the Red Planet. With 370,000 miles (596,000 km) left to travel, Perseverance was hurtling through space on track for a bull's-eye touchdown on Thursday inside a vast basin called Jezero Crater, site of a long-vanished Martian lake bed and river delta, mission managers said on Tuesday.

Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned ferret, spurs hope for endangered U.S. species

U.S. scientists have successfully cloned an endangered black-footed ferret using frozen cells from a long-dead wild animal, the first time any native endangered species has been cloned in the United States. Black-footed ferret recovery efforts aimed at increased genetic diversity and disease resistance took a bold step forward on Dec. 10, with the birth of Elizabeth Ann, created from the cells of Willa, a black-footed ferret that lived more than 30 years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.

New look at first black hole detected shows it is bigger than expected

A fresh examination has revealed new details about the first black hole ever detected - which was spotted in 1964 and became the subject of a friendly wager between renowned scientists - including that it is bigger than previously known. Researchers said on Thursday that new observations of the Cygnus X-1 black hole, orbiting in a stellar marriage with a large and luminous star, showed it is 21 times our sun's mass, about 50% more massive than previously believed.

Planet Earth its quietest in decades as lockdowns reduce seismic noise

Earth had its quietest period in decades during 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced human activity and its impact on the planet's crust, according to scientists working on a global study. An international group of seismologists from 33 countries measured a drop of up to 50% in so-called ambient noise generated by humans travelling and factories humming after lockdowns came into force around the world.

NASA's astrobiology rover Perseverance makes historic Mars landing

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance, the most advanced astrobiology lab ever sent to another world, streaked through the Martian atmosphere on Thursday and landed safely inside a vast crater, the first stop on a search for traces of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet. Mission managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles burst into applause, cheers and fist-bumps as radio beacons signaled that the rover had survived its perilous descent and arrived as planned on the floor of Jezero Crater, site of a long-vanished Martian lake bed.

COVID-19 heart problems may persist for months; smartphone oxygen meters prove helpful

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

COVID-19 heart problems may remain evident months later Bosnian villagers cheer as NASA attempts to land on namesake lake on Mars

Schoolchildren in the Bosnian village of Jezero waited with great excitement for an attempt by NASA on Thursday to land on an ancient lake bed on Mars which is named after their tiny hometown. NASA's Mars rover Perseverance, the most advanced astrobiology lab ever flown to another world, is due to make a landing attempt on the ancient lake bed after a seven-month journey from Earth. Scientists hope to find signs of fossilized microbial life.

(With inputs from agencies.)