Scientist Clone the First Endangered Species Using a 33-year-old DNA

Scientists have been able to clone the first U.S. endangered species, a black-footed ferret they named Elizabeth Ann, duplicated from the genes of an animal that died over 30 years ago. The original donner, named was named Willa. When Willa died, in 1988 the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sent her tissues to a “frozen zoo” run by San Diego Zoo Global that maintains cells from more than 1,100 species and subspecies worldwide.

Welcome, Elizabeth Ann! This cloned Black-footed Ferret is now the most genetically valuable of her species. Read the press release about this major milestone for conservation https://t.co/ApFcwbH6ml due to our partnership with @frozenzoo @usfwsnews @ViaGenPets_ pic.twitter.com/gIze2XkwNR
— Revive & Restore (@Revive_Restore) February 18, 2021

Willa was not one of the original seven ancestors. Before those ferrets were found in 1981 on a ranch in the state of Wyoming, it was believed that the species had gone extinct forever.

*Elizabeth Ann, the first ever cloned US endangered species at 50 days old. USFWS National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center*

Willa’s body was frozen in the early stages of the DNA technology. For now, the technique holds promise for helping endangered species including a Mongolian wild horse that was cloned and last summer born at a Texas facility.

“Biotechnology and genomic data can really make a difference on the ground with conservation efforts,” said Ben Novak, lead scientist with Revive & Restore, a biotechnology-focused conservation nonprofit that coordinated the ferret and horse cloning.

Cutting-edge science and a blast from the past! Meet Elizabeth Ann. She’s the first-ever cloned black-footed ferret, created from the frozen cells of a ferret that died more than 30 years ago: https://t.co/PJNo7NaFhV
Check the thread for more about Elizabeth Anne! pic.twitter.com/0i85mv9FgH
— US Fish and Wildlife (@USFWSMtnPrairie) February 18, 2021

Willa’s genes were fertilized into an embryo and then carried by a regular domestic ferret, who gave birth to Elizabeth Ann. A fellow black-footed ferret didn’t carry the embryo because of the regular risks associated with pregnancy. With the success of this procedure, animal conservators feel more confident about bringing back other specimens, including those that will require genetic patching or modification in order to even be successfully cloned.

Elizabeth Ann will not be released in the wild. She’s being cared for at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Black Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado.

Each parent has a different parenting style. With each parenting style comes a different way of showing a misbehaving child their wrongdoing, along with a different way of correcting such wrongdoings.

This father had a very terrible daughter. In his post in the Am I The A-Hole subreddit, he began by describing his daughter as someone who had a bad attitude and barely made it through high school. This is in contrast with her younger sister, who was the cream of the crop. To reward the younger, he thought of taking her on a fully-paid vacation. When the older heard of it, she wanted to come but agreed that she would pay her expenses. Come the day of the trip, the older hadn’t paid for her trip yet because she assumed that her father would vouch for her. Follow the full story below!

More Info: Reddit