In 1996, a genetically modified Sheep named Dolly was born. Two British scientists at the Roslin Institute named Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell cloned Dolly from a cell taken from a sheep’s mammary gland and inserted it into an egg of another sheep. It was then implanted into a surrogate mother sheep.

The birth of Dolly was a scientific breakthrough, particularly in the fields of biology and medicine. She became the very first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.

Her existence proved that the use of specialized cells could result in an exact replica of the animal that the cells came from.

Dolly wasn’t the first-ever attempt at cloning. She was just the first to be cloned from a specialized adult cell. All previous cloning experiments that turned out successfully were done with embryo cells.

In 1902, German scientists grew two salamanders from an embryo. Other animals, such as cows and frogs, were also created in labs before Dolly ever came to be.

When Dolly was born, the media swarmed her pen as everyone fought for a glimpse of the sheep.

She became something of a celebrity, posing for photos, starring in commercials, and being written about in magazine articles, much like Dolly Parton herself, the country music star the animal was named after. Because she was cloned from a mammary cell, it seemed only fitting that Dolly was named after the singer.

Dolly’s birth opened up a world of possibilities for scientists and helped to further stem cell research. It even led to the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which has diminished the demand for embryonic stem cells in research and contributed to the process of regenerative medicine.

Dolly the sheep spent her life at the Roslin Institute, and aside from all the media attention, she led a pretty normal life with other sheep.

Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.

Over the years, she gave birth to six lambs. After her last two lambs were born in the year 2000, it was discovered that she was infected with a virus that was known for causing lung cancer in sheep.

Still, her life carried on as usual until a medical scan conducted in 2003 revealed that she had tumors growing in her lungs. As a result, she was put down.

After her death, Dolly’s body was taxidermied and donated to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, where she is still on display.

If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe

She Went Out With A Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon Who Insinuated That She Only Had A Large Following On TikTok Because Of Her Looks, Not Because People Enjoy The Content She Posts

She Feels Humiliated That Her Boyfriend Took Her To A Beach With The Intention Of Proposing To Her, But Then Bailed And Said She Ruined It

Archaeologists In Northern China Discovered A 1,500-Year-Old Tomb Of An Ancient Emperor Featuring At Least 146 Funerary Objects

He Was Sick Of His Neighbor’s Kids Being So Noisy, So He Played His Bagpipes Outside Their Bedroom Window At 6:30 A.M. On A Saturday To Teach Them A Lesson

In 2022, She Mysteriously Packed A Bag, Left Home, And Has Not Been Seen Or Head From Again

Want To Avoid Some Holiday Stress Later? Here’s How You Can Start Prepping To Host The Holidays Now

She’s Credited With Facilitating Peace Between Native Americans And White Settlers In The Colorado Plains During The 1800s