Ian Wilmut, the scientist who effectively cloned Dolly the Sheep, passes away at the age of 79.
Ian Wilmut, the scientist who effectively cloned the initially mammal, Dolly the sheep, has passed away at the age of 79. He died due to complications from Parkinson’s illness. Born close to Stratford-upon-Avon, Wilmut created an interest in biology through his time at college in Scarborough. He initially studied agriculture at the University of Nottingham but later switched to animal science. Wilmut went on to earn a PhD and fellowship at the University of Cambridge, exactly where he focused on the preservation of semen and embryos via freezing. This study eventually led to the birth of Frostie, the initially calf born from a frozen embryo.
Right after his time at Cambridge, Wilmut joined the Animal Breeding Study Organisation (ABRO) close to Edinburgh, which later became the Roslin Institute. There, he continued his function with reproductive cells and embryos, and contributed to a project involving genetically modified sheep that could make milk with proteins applied in treating human ailments. This project highlighted the require for a additional effective approach of building sheep with these desirable traits. Wilmut spearheaded efforts to create cloning procedures, particularly nuclear transfer, that could be applied to produce genetically modified sheep. These efforts resulted in the births of Megan and Morag in 1995 and Dolly in 1996. In 1997, Polly was born, becoming the initially mammal to be each cloned and genetically modified. Following the accomplishment of his cloning study, Wilmut shifted his concentrate towards utilizing cloning to produce stem cells for regenerative medicine.

