Tuesday Tidbits #6: Cloning

On July 5, 1996, Dolly the Sheep became the first mammal ever cloned from adult cells.  Created by the Roslin Institute in Scotland (and named after country singer, Dolly Parton), Dolly quickly became the world’s most famous sheep.  Her mere existence ignited a debate amongst people concerned about what this might mean for the future of cloning in humans.  In 2003, Dolly developed lung disease and was euthanized.  Whether or not this development was related to her clone status remains unknown.

Interested in learning more about cloning?  Check out these resources:

Credo Reference provides an in-depth look at the topic of cloning.

Films on Demand has a number of videos that discuss cloning.

The Human Genome Project,  a project of the United States Department of Energy, has an excellent page covering the history of cloning, as well as numerous links to other sources on the topic.

The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah provides a summary of  cloning and includs several interactive pages.