Science News Roundup: Mars rover beams back selfie; Elizabeth Ann spurs hope for endangered and more

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.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

'Something we've never seen' - Mars rover beams back selfie from moment before landing

NASA scientists on Friday presented striking early images from the picture-perfect landing of the Mars rover Perseverance, including a selfie of the six-wheeled vehicle dangling just above the surface of the Red Planet moments before touchdown. The color photograph, likely to become an instant classic among memorable images from the history of spaceflight, was snapped by a camera mounted on the rocket-powered "sky crane" descent-stage just above the rover as the car-sized space vehicle was being lowered on Thursday to Martian soil.

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.

Chinese state fund invests in gene firm BGI

The Chinese government has made an investment in BGI Genomics Co, a listed Chinese company that has supplied millions of COVID-19 tests globally as the gene firm seeks to fund exponential growth driven by the pandemic. BGI Group, which runs a massive gene databank in China and has DNA sequencing contracts with health firms and universities worldwide, has in the past responded to claims from U.S. security agencies that it is closely linked to the Chinese government by saying it has no Chinese government capital.