1997: The world learns of the existence of Dolly the sheep, the world’s first successfully cloned mammal.

Dolly was cloned at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. Researchers used somatic-cell nuclear transfer with a cell taken from a 6-year-old ewe. Dolly was named for Dolly Parton, the buxom country-western singer, because a mammary cell was used for the cloning process.

Dolly’s appearance touched off a debate among scientists, ethicists and others regarding the idea of man playing God and interfering with the natural order of things. The bottom-line issue here is the possibility of cloning a human being, an idea rejected by virtually all of the scientific fraternity, including the researchers who produced Dolly.

Dolly’s premature death in 2003 raised further issues. She was euthanized after developing a lung infection common to sheep but usually found in older animals. A post-mortem examination determined that she was, in fact, prematurely aged at the time of her death. This, naturally, led to additional questions about the pitfalls of cloning.

Nevertheless, the technical success of Dolly’s cloning has led to the replication of other large mammals, including horses and cattle. Advocates see large-scale cloning as a way of preserving endangered species and producing lab animals on the cheap, although animal conservationists say the value in protecting species is overstated, owing to the loss of genetic diversity.

As for Dolly, she was stuffed and mounted after her death and is preserved at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Source: NewScientist.com, Wikipedia

Photo: The taxidermied body of Dolly, part and parcel, is on display in Edinburgh.

This article first appeared on Wired.com Feb. 22, 2007.

See Also:

• Cloning Kits: More Fun Than a Chemistry Set?
• Cloning Still Holds Stem Cell Key, Say Leading Harvard Researchers
• Dolly Designer: Cloning for Stem Cells Is So 1997
• If Cloning Humans Is Wrong, So Is Cloning Monkeys
• Dolly Cloner Tackles Disease
• January 1997: CES Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
• Jan. 12, 1997: HAL of a Computer
• Jan. 22, 1997: Heads Up, Lottie! It’s Space Junk!
• May 11, 1997: Machine Bests Man in Tournament-Level Chess Match
• June 12, 1997: Trying to Stay One Jump Ahead of the Counterfeiters
• June 25, 1997: Minor Collision Doesn’t Dull Cargo Ship’s Luster
• July 10, 1997: Neanderthal DNA Suggests a Separate, Unequal Being
• Aug. 6, 1997: Apple Rescued — by Microsoft
• Sept. 16, 1997: Jobs Returns to Apple
• Dec. 11, 1997: World Signs Onto Kyoto Protocol
• Dec. 18, 1997: Tokyo Bay Tunnel Opens
• Feb. 22, 1857: Hertz Enters Cycle of Life
• Feb. 22, 1918: A Really Big Kid From Alton, Illinois