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This Month in Medical History - July: The Plural of Sheep

by Heather Mayer, DOTmed News Reporter | July 08, 2010

There has been much controversy not only over Dolly, but over the entire field of cloning. Research has found that cloned animals may suffer lifelong illnesses or deformities and die young. Because of this, there has been only limited evidence showing how cloned animals age.

Studies have found that clones that do survive until and after birth, often suffer from health problems that can include respiratory distress, lack of sucking reflex, heart problems and urogenital abnormalities.

Scientists look to cloning as a way to produce organisms with certain genetic traits. If researchers can successfully clone a sheep for example, with certain protein in its milk, they could clone entire herds of that type of sheep. Or in the therapeutic realm, cloning could lead to new ways to treat disease.

Dolly lived her entire life at the Roslin Institute. For security reasons, Dolly had to sleep inside the facility.She mated - the normal way - and gave birth to six lambs: Bonnie, Sally, Rosie, Lucy, Darton and Cotton.

Most Finn Dorset sheep - Dolly's breed - live to be 11 or 12 years old. Dolly didn't live nearly as long. She was euthanized on Feb. 14, 2003 at the age of 6 - the same age her donor mother was when Dolly was created. Dolly was euthanized because she was suffering from severe arthritis and a progressive lung disease, common in sheep housed indoors. Autopsies did not indicate that her illnesses were a result from her cloning. Dolly's remains are on display in the Royal Museum of Scotland.

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