Sheep clone goes on display

Morag was cloned from embryonic cells in 1995

A stuffed, sheep clone has gone on display at a museum in Edinburgh, UK.

The animal, named Morag, was donated by the scientists who created Dolly the Sheep.

Morag and her twin sister Megan were cloned from embryo cells in 1995 by researchers at the Roslin Institute, Scotland.

This achievement later led to Dolly, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

Added interest

Morag died from an infection earlier this year. The museum decided to exhibit her as an example of "one of recent history's most significant symbols of scientific and technological breakthrough".

Morag gets a dusting

The stuffed body of the animal was unveiled in the entrance hall of the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, where it will stay until early in the New Year.

Andrew Kitchener, a curator at the National Museums of Scotland, said he hoped Morag would interest the public.

"Obviously we are pleased to have it," he said. "It's a bit of extra added interest, something that people won't be expecting to see."

After death

Dr Harry Griffin, of the Roslin Institute, said Morag was not the first sheep to be cloned since others were created from cells taken directly from embryos in the 1980s.

But he said Morag and Megan were the first to be cloned from embryonic cells that had been cultured for several months in a laboratory.

The Royal Museum is also displaying a fleece from Dolly.

Dolly has already given birth to six lambs and when she dies she will join Morag on display in one of Scotland's museums.