Its a bold idea that has perplexed scientists around the world for centuries.
Is it possible to make genetic copies of individual cells, so that we can clone a living being?
On this day in 1997, that question was answered when Scottish scientists unveiled the first successfully cloned adult mammal, Dolly the sheep.
The scientists, from the Roslin Institute in Scotland, said Dolly was cloned using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) from the cell of a six-year-old ewe.
The cell nucleus, which controls gene expression and DNA cells, was taken from an adult cell and transferred into an unfertilised, developing egg cell that had its nucleus removed.
The cell was stimulated to divide by an electric shock implanted in the surrogate.
On July 5, 1996, Dolly was born to three mothers that provided an egg, donated DNA and carried the cloned embryo.
DNA tests revealed Dolly was identical to the donor and not related to the surrogate.
Originally code-named 6LL3, the sheep was named after American singer Dolly Parton because the donor cell was taken from a mammary gland.
Like all experiments that push the boundaries of nature, the announcement of Dolly the sheep sparked thorny debates among scientists.
These arguments became even more heated when she was euthanised in 2003 due to a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis.
Some scientists believe she died as a result of premature ageing.
Although the creation of Dolly stunned the world, she was not the first cloned animal.
The first study of cloning took place in 1885, when German scientist Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch began researching reproduction.
In 1902, he was able to create a set of twin salamanders by dividing an embryo into two separate, viable embryos, according to theGenetic Science Learning Centre.
Since then, there have been many breakthroughs in cloning.
In 1984, a sheep cloned from an embryo cell in Cambridge, UK became the first cloned mammal.
Two other sheep, Megan and Morag, were also cloned from embryonic cells grown in the same lab as Dolly in 1995.
What made Dolly so special was that she was been made from an adult cell, which no one at the time thought was possible.
Her birth proved that specialised cells could be used to create an exact copy of the animal they came from.
This knowledge changed what scientists thought was possible and opened many possibilities in biology and medicine, including the development of personalised stem cells known as iPS cells.
On Friday, US scientists announced they had successfully cloned an endangered black-footed ferret using frozen cells from a long-dead wild animal.
It was the first time any native endangered species has been cloned in the United States.
Excerpt from:
On This Day: Scientists unveil Dolly the cloned sheep - The New Daily
- Biology of stem cells: an overview - PMC - National Center for ... - March 26th, 2024
- Iron Limitation Preserves Youthfulness of Blood Stem Cells - Mirage News - March 13th, 2024
- Mini organs grown from stem cells of unborn babies for the first time in breakthrough - The Mirror - March 9th, 2024
- The Effect of Short-Term NAD3 Supplementation on Circulating Adult Stem Cells in Healthy Individuals Aged 40-70 ... - Cureus - March 7th, 2024
- University of Liverpool Spin-Out Emerges, Pioneering Novel Adult Stem Cell-Based Therapies - India Education Diary - March 7th, 2024
- Scientists have used cells from fluid drawn during pregnancy to grow mini lungs and other organs - Yahoo News Canada - March 6th, 2024
- Japan approves new stem cell-based Alzheimer's therapy By Proactive Investors - Investing.com Australia - January 20th, 2024
- Cyberstalking pits Harvard professor against PubPeer Retraction ... - Retraction Watch - December 5th, 2023
- 10 functional health predictions for 2024, according to a doctor and ... - 1330 WFIN - December 5th, 2023
- See the Brain Like Never Before in This Gorgeous Art - Scientific American - December 5th, 2023
- Geron Announces Publication in The Lancet of Results from the ... - BioSpace - December 5th, 2023
- Stem cell injections could be the key to curing MS - Freethink - December 3rd, 2023
- Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib) Now Approved by U.S. FDA for the ... - Investors | Eli Lilly and Company - December 3rd, 2023
- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Four JAK Inhibitors for ... - HealthDay - December 3rd, 2023
- City lights up for Francis on Anthony Nolan's birthday - Liverpool Express - December 3rd, 2023
- NOT-AR-23-022: Request for Information on Themes for the NIAMS ... - National Institutes of Health (.gov) - December 3rd, 2023
- December 2023: Intramural Papers of the Month - Environmental Factor Newsletter - December 1st, 2023
- CNA Explains: What is cord blood banking and why do parents do it? - CNA - December 1st, 2023
- Regulation of myogenesis and adipogenesis by the electromagnetic ... - Nature.com - December 1st, 2023
- The effects of vitamin K on bone health - News-Medical.Net - December 1st, 2023
- Dr Hurwitz on Ongoing Investigations of the Use of CAR T-Cell ... - OncLive - December 1st, 2023
- Mitophagy in human health, ageing and disease - Nature.com - December 1st, 2023
- Adult Stem Cells - Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine ... - November 29th, 2023
- Navigating The Regulatory Landscape Of Longevity Health Products ... - Mondaq News Alerts - November 29th, 2023
- MS breakthrough could lead to treatments that halt disease's ... - inews - November 29th, 2023
- Reprogramming tissue mechanically to promote wound healing - Phys.org - November 29th, 2023
- Latest Advances in Arthritis Diagnosis and Treatment at American ... - HealthDay - November 29th, 2023
- Sex-associated differences in frequencies and prognostic impact of ... - Nature.com - November 29th, 2023
- Hematologists Dive into the Current Treatment Landscape - OncLive - November 29th, 2023
- Team discovers protein crucial for B cell differentiation and antibodies - Phys.org - November 29th, 2023
- Science Talk - I survived cancer as a child and now I'm working to ... - The Institute of Cancer Research - November 29th, 2023
- First Edition: Nov. 29, 2023 - KFF Health News - November 29th, 2023
- Symptoms: Unilateral Hearing Loss and Tinnitus : The Hearing Journal - LWW Journals - November 29th, 2023
- Mitigation of sepsis-induced acute lung injury by BMSCs | IJN - Dove Medical Press - November 29th, 2023
- A Case of a Constricted Vessel: The Impact of Acute Myeloid ... - Cureus - November 29th, 2023
- Mum brushed off fatigue after having baby but fall sparked deadly diagnosis - The Mirror - November 29th, 2023
- How heritable is the epigenome? - Drug Discovery News - November 29th, 2023
- The Blueprint of Regeneration: Scientists Discover How to Turn Stem Cells Fate - Revyuh - November 27th, 2023
- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Announces In-Person Meeting with ... - Marketscreener.com - November 27th, 2023
- Stem Cell Therapy Developed in Korea Begins Treatment for ... - PharmiWeb.com - November 25th, 2023
- COVID-19 Pandemic's Adverse Effect on Bone Health in Young ... - HealthDay - November 25th, 2023
- Sickle cell breakthrough - The Indian Express - November 25th, 2023
- Wall thickness analysis method for judging the degree of lower ... - Nature.com - November 25th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics to Present at the Piper Sandler 35th Annual Healthcare Conference - Yahoo Finance - November 23rd, 2023
- Disease Transmission and Diagnosis of Zika Virus - Cureus - November 23rd, 2023
- Gene-editing therapy for sickle cell earns conditional approval in UK - Sickle Cell Disease News - November 23rd, 2023
- Stem Cell Therapy Developed in Korea Begins Treatment for ... - Newswire - November 21st, 2023
- Efficacy of ADSC-CM in Patients with Telogen Effluvium | SCCAA - Dove Medical Press - November 21st, 2023
- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Announces In-Person Meeting with ... - PR Newswire - November 21st, 2023
- The Impact of CAR T Cell Therapy on Managing R/R LBCL - OncLive - November 21st, 2023
- Mansour bin Zayed witnesses inauguration of ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 - ZAWYA - November 21st, 2023
- Listeria: Who is most susceptible? What are the Symptoms? What ... - Food Poison Journal - November 21st, 2023
- Scope Of Issued Patents May Be Limited By Prosecution Estoppel ... - Mondaq News Alerts - November 21st, 2023
- Qrons Announces the Addition of Professor Shiri Navon-Venezia to ... - StreetInsider.com - November 21st, 2023
- Financially strapped Athersys raises $10.4M - cleveland.com - November 19th, 2023
- From the India Today archives (2010) | How stem cells can save your life - India Today - November 19th, 2023
- Inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene Apc synergizes with H ... - Science - November 19th, 2023
- The Origins of Multiple Myeloma and Why it Matters - HealthTree For AML - Acute Myeloid Leukemia - November 19th, 2023
- Treatment Considerations With TROP2-Targeted Therapy - OncLive - November 19th, 2023
- Athersys narrows loss, raises $10.4 million during third quarter to ... - The Business Journals - November 17th, 2023
- Who was Dolly the Sheep and what happened to her? The story of ... - BBC Countryfile Magazine - November 17th, 2023
- UK first to approve CRISPR treatment for diseases: what you need to ... - Nature.com - November 17th, 2023
- 1st sickle cell patient to be given therapy restoring fetal hemoglobin - Sickle Cell Disease News - November 15th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Provides Business Updates - Century - Benzinga - November 13th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Appoints Brent Pfeiffenberger, Pharm.D., MBA, as Chief Executive Officer - Yahoo Finance - November 11th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics and FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics Announce Licenses for the Development and Commercialization of iPSC-Derived Cell Therapies in... - November 11th, 2023
- AAO 2023: Paul Runge and his ROP treatments in the Ukraine - Modern Retina - November 11th, 2023
- The Evolutionary Reasons We Are Drawn To Horror Movies and ... - Slashdot - November 11th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results ... - GlobeNewswire - November 11th, 2023
- Century Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results ... - StreetInsider.com - November 9th, 2023
- NYU Langone Health Performs World's First Whole-Eye & Partial ... - NYU Langone Health - November 9th, 2023
- BrainStorm to Announce Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and ... - BioSpace - November 9th, 2023
- Can we cut cost and pain of IVF? Start-up CEO tries out own ... - Genetic Literacy Project - November 9th, 2023
- Jasper Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results ... - BioSpace - November 9th, 2023
- Impaired neural stress resistance and loss of REST in bipolar ... - Nature.com - November 9th, 2023
- Functional genomics and systems biology in human neuroscience - Nature.com - November 9th, 2023
- Trial launched to test CAR T-cell therapy in dogs diagnosed with ... - EurekAlert - November 9th, 2023
- The-Gut's-Lasting-Impact-on-Severe-COVID-19-Immune-Response - Infectious Disease Special Edition - November 9th, 2023
- Emerging Cure for Sickle Cell on its Way to FDA Approval, Carries ... - Dallasweekly - November 7th, 2023
- The science works, but will we pay for it? - Irish Medical Times - November 7th, 2023
Recent Comments