Dolly, first cloned mammal, is dead. (Biology).Dolly, the most famous sheep since Mary's little lamb, was euthanized on Feb. 14 to prevent further suffering after she acquired a severe lung infection. The sheep, which was 6 years old, was the first mammal mammal, an animal of the highest class of vertebrates, the Mammalia. The female has mammary glands, which secrete milk for the nourishment of the young after birth. to be cloned from the DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. of an adult, and its birth set the stage for the current furor furor /fu·ror/ (fu´ror) fury; rage. furor epilep´ticus an attack of intense anger occurring in epilepsy. over human cloning Although genes are recognized as influencing behavior and cognition, "genetically identical" does not mean altogether identical; identical twins, despite being natural human clones with near identical DNA, are separate people, with separate experiences and not altogether (SN: 4/5/97 p. 214; 10/20/01, p. 250). For most of her life, Dolly was as healthy as a typical sheep, although many other mammalian clones have had severe, if not fatal, physical defects. While there was speculation that Dolly was aging prematurely because the tips of her chromosomes appeared shorter than normal for a sheep her age, her creators at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh say there is no definitive evidence of such a problem. Domestic sheep can live up to a dozen years, but it's not unusual for sheep kept in stalls to contract infections and die young, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Roslin Institute researchers. Nonetheless, they will do a full autopsy of the animal. At the moment, there are no plans to clone Dolly.--J.T. |
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