Dolly the cloned sheep dies

Dolly the Sheep was born in 1996

Dolly the sheep, who became famous as the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell, has died.

The news was confirmed by the Roslin Institute, the Scottish research centre which created her, on Friday.

A decision was taken to "euthanase" six-year-old Dolly after a veterinary examination showed she had a progressive lung disease, the institute said in a statement.

Dolly became the first cloned mammal after being born on 5 July, 1996 at the research institute in Scotland.

Post mortem

She was revealed to the public following year.

Dr Harry Griffin, from the institute, said: "Sheep can live to 11 or 12 years of age and lung infections are common in older sheep, particularly those housed inside.

"A full post-mortem is being conducted and we will report any significant findings"

Dolly was a sheep created totally by design - even her name was picked specifically to be appealing.

It came about during the latter stages of labour when Dolly was born.

Stockmen involved in the delivery thought of the fact that the cell used came from a mammary gland and arrived at Dolly Parton, the country and western singer.

Cloning row

Her birth was only announced seven months later and was heralded as one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the decade.

But it also prompted a long-running argument over the ethics of cloning, reaching further levels with the latest allegations of human cloning.

Dolly, a Finn Dorset, bred normally on two occasions with a Welsh mountain ram called David.

She first gave birth to Bonnie in April 1998 and then to three more lambs in 1999.

But in January last year her condition caused concern when she was diagnosed with a form of arthritis.