Dolly the Sheep's Birthday
Next: July 5, 2027
The world's most famous sheep.
The story
Where it comes from
This Story marks the birthday of Dolly the sheep, born on 5 July 1996 at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, now part of the University of Edinburgh. She was the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell, something many scientists had thought impossible. Dolly grew from a cell taken from a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep, placed in an egg cell from a Scottish Blackface sheep, and was born to a Blackface surrogate mother. Her birth was kept quiet until the research was published in 1997, when she caused worldwide excitement and debate.
How it's celebrated
There is no organised observance. Dolly herself can still be visited: since 2003 she has been on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, one of its most popular exhibits. It is also a good day to read about how one small cell changed what science thought was possible.
Did you know
- She was named after the country singer Dolly Parton.
- Dolly was the only live lamb from 277 attempts, and she was standing on her own within minutes of being born.
- Dolly went on to have six lambs of her own.
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