Facts about Dolly Sheep
Dolly the Sheep died at 6 years old
Died: February 14, 2003 (euthanization)
Best known as: The first cloned mammal
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Dolly
Simple online exhibit, with photosDolly the Sheep Clone Dies Young
February 2003 BBC report on her deathThe Roslin Institute
Includes a copy of the original press release and recent researchNature: Dolly the Sheep
Archived articles from Nature magazineShare this:
Dolly the Sheep Biography
Dolly was history’s first cloned mammal. In February of 1997 it was announced that the biotechnology firm PPL Therapeutics and the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland had successfully cloned a sheep, under the direction of Dr. Ian Wilmut. Cells from the udder of a pregnant six year-old sheep were inserted into the uterus of another sheep to develop, and Dolly was born in July of 1996. (Her name was a sly nod to singer Dolly Parton.) Dolly had the DNA of her source, making her the first mammal successfully cloned using adult cells. Dolly was put to sleep in 2003 after doctors detected progressive lung disease, though she had only reached half the life span of a typical sheep.