The Story of Dolly the Cloned Sheep | Retro Report | The New York Times

Summary

The script narrates the groundbreaking story of Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, born in 1996. It explores the scientific revolution and ethical debates that followed, including the potential for cloning to cure diseases or create 'designer' humans. The narrative also touches on the impact of Dolly on stem cell research and the eventual shift towards more efficient methods, like those pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka, which bypass the need for cloning and its ethical dilemmas.

Takeaways

• 🐑 Dolly the sheep, born in 1996, was the first successfully cloned adult mammal, causing global astonishment and raising ethical questions about cloning.
• 🔬 The cloning process was complex and required multiple attempts, with only one successful embryo from over 400 trials, highlighting the technical challenges involved.
• 🌐 The news of Dolly's birth was initially kept secret to avoid media scrutiny and premature publication, but it was leaked just before the official announcement.
• 🌟 The successful cloning of Dolly was seen as a groundbreaking scientific achievement, comparable to the discovery of the atom bomb, moon landing, or DNA.
• 🚫 The ethical implications of cloning led to immediate political reactions, with President Clinton issuing a directive banning the use of federal funds for human cloning.
• 🧬 Cloning and stem cell research became intertwined issues, with both facing controversy and restrictions that affected scientific progress in the United States.
• 🌱 The potential of cloning for agriculture, such as creating superior livestock, was overshadowed by sensationalized fears of human cloning and its misuse.
• 🤔 The debate over cloning raised fundamental questions about the role of science and humanity's place in the natural world, with some viewing it as 'playing God'.
• 🔄 The inefficiency and ethical concerns surrounding cloning led to the exploration of alternative methods, such as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which bypass the need for human embryos.
• 🏆 The discovery of iPSCs by Shinya Yamanaka revolutionized stem cell research and earned him the Nobel Prize, offering a promising path forward for medical therapies without the ethical dilemmas of cloning.
• 🔮 The legacy of Dolly includes both the scientific advancements in cloning and stem cell research, as well as the ongoing ethical and political debates surrounding these technologies.

Q & A

Who was Dolly the sheep and why was she significant?

Dolly the sheep was the first living, breathing clone of an adult mammal, created by Scottish scientist Ian Wilmet and his team at the Roslin Institute in 1996. Her birth demonstrated the possibility of cloning adult mammals, sparking widespread scientific and ethical debates.

What was the method used to clone Dolly?

The method involved taking a single mammary cell from a six-year-old ewe, fusing it with an unfertilized egg from another sheep that had its DNA removed, and implanting the resulting embryo into a surrogate mother.

What were some potential benefits of cloning animals mentioned in the script?

Potential benefits included cloning animals with human diseases for testing new therapies, cloning endangered species, and improving agricultural practices by producing high-quality livestock in large numbers.

What concerns were raised about cloning following Dolly's birth?

Concerns included ethical questions about 'playing God,' the potential for cloning humans, and fears of creating genetically identical individuals, which raised worries about possible misuse, such as creating armies or cloning leaders like Hitler.

How did Dolly get her name?

Dolly was named after the singer Dolly Parton. The name was suggested by John Bracken, a member of the Roslin team, as a reference to the source of the cloned cell, which was a mammary gland cell.

What were some of the immediate reactions and consequences of Dolly's cloning in the scientific community and beyond?

The cloning of Dolly led to intense media scrutiny, public debates, and political actions, including President Clinton issuing a directive banning the use of federal funds for cloning human beings. It also influenced discussions on embryonic stem cell research.

What eventually happened to Dolly the sheep?

Dolly lived until 2003, when she died of progressive lung disease. While there were concerns that her early death was due to cloning, it was concluded that her disease was likely caused by environmental factors common in sheep, not cloning.

What has been the long-term impact of Dolly's cloning on scientific research?

Dolly's cloning paved the way for advancements in stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. It also influenced the development of techniques to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) without using embryos, which addressed many ethical concerns.

How did the public and media react to the news of Dolly's cloning?

The news of Dolly's cloning caused a major public stir, with widespread media coverage and debates about the ethical and scientific implications. It was seen as a groundbreaking achievement and a potential harbinger of a 'Brave New World' of cloning.

What advancements in stem cell research were influenced by Dolly's cloning?

Dolly's cloning influenced the development of techniques for creating embryonic stem cells and the breakthrough by Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who developed a method to turn ordinary adult cells into stem cells, earning him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2012.

Outlines

00:00

🐑 The Birth of Dolly: A Scientific Milestone

The first paragraph introduces the groundbreaking event of Dolly the sheep's birth in 1997, the first cloned adult mammal, which sparked global debate about the ethics and implications of cloning. It discusses the potential benefits, such as cloning for medical research and endangered species preservation, as well as the ethical concerns raised by the public and scientists alike. The paragraph also details the scientific process behind Dolly's creation by Dr. Ian Wilmut and his team at the Roslin Institute, emphasizing the challenges and the one successful outcome from over 400 attempts. The secrecy around Dolly's birth and the subsequent media frenzy are also highlighted, setting the stage for the ensuing discussions on cloning's future.

05:00

🧬 Cloning Controversy and Its Impact on Science

This paragraph delves into the public and political reactions to Dolly's cloning, which stirred fears about the potential for human cloning and led to immediate calls for ethical boundaries and regulations. It outlines the politicization of cloning and its intersection with embryonic stem cell research, which faced similar ethical debates and restrictions under President Clinton and later President George W. Bush. The paragraph also touches on the broader implications for medical research, the potential for cloning to advance treatments for human diseases, and the chilling effect these controversies had on scientific progress in the United States, as opposed to other countries where stem cell research continued to thrive.

10:02

🌱 The Legacy of Dolly and the Future of Cloning

The final paragraph reflects on Dolly's legacy and the evolution of cloning technology since her birth. It discusses the commercial use of cloning in preserving elite animal traits and the inefficiency and high costs associated with the process. The paragraph also highlights the shift in scientific focus from cloning to the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by Shinya Yamanaka, which bypasses the ethical issues of using human embryos and has the potential to revolutionize regenerative medicine. The narrative concludes with the current state of stem cell research and the optimism for treating degenerative diseases, as well as the lasting impact of Dolly's story on public perception and scientific discourse.

Keywords

💡Dolly the sheep

Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, a significant milestone in the field of biotechnology. In the video, Dolly's birth in 1997 is highlighted as a groundbreaking scientific achievement that sparked discussions on the ethics and potential of cloning. The script mentions that Dolly was cloned using a technique that involved the fusion of a mammary cell with an unfertilized egg cell, devoid of its DNA.

💡Cloning

Cloning refers to the process of creating a genetically identical copy of an organism. The video discusses the implications of cloning, especially after Dolly's creation, including the potential to clone animals with human diseases for testing new therapies and the ethical concerns raised by the possibility of human cloning.

💡Scientific breakthrough

A scientific breakthrough is a significant discovery or innovation that advances knowledge in a particular field. The video emphasizes the creation of Dolly as a scientific breakthrough, comparing its impact to the discovery of the atom bomb or the moon landing, and discusses the subsequent ethical and philosophical debates it sparked.

💡Ethical debate

Ethical debate refers to discussions concerning the moral implications of certain actions or decisions. The script explores the ethical debate surrounding cloning, particularly the concerns about 'playing God' and the potential misuse of cloning technology for human replication.

💡Embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem cells are cells derived from embryos that have the potential to develop into any type of cell in the body. The video mentions the controversy and potential of embryonic stem cells in medical research, which was entangled with the debate on cloning due to the source of these cells and their use in creating Dolly.

💡Ian Wilmut

Ian Wilmut is the Scottish scientist who led the team that cloned Dolly the sheep. In the video, Wilmut's relief and the significance of Dolly's successful birth are discussed, illustrating his central role in the cloning process and the historical moment it represented.

💡Stem cell therapy

Stem cell therapy involves the use of stem cells to treat or prevent diseases. The video touches on the hope that cloning technology could lead to advancements in stem cell therapies, potentially curing deadly human diseases, although it also notes the challenges and inefficiencies in realizing this potential.

💡Yamanaka factors

Yamanaka factors are a set of proteins that can reprogram adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The video highlights the work of Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery that revolutionized stem cell research by providing an ethical alternative to embryonic stem cells.

💡Lou Gehrig's disease

Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The script mentions Ian Wilmut's research on ALS using Yamanaka's iPSC method, showing how cloning technology and stem cell research are interconnected in the quest to combat degenerative diseases.

💡Presidential directive

A presidential directive is an order or instruction issued by a president. The video discusses how President Clinton issued a directive banning the use of federal funds for human cloning, reflecting the immediate political and ethical response to the cloning technology.

💡National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland is where Dolly the sheep is on permanent display. The video concludes by mentioning this museum as a place where Dolly's legacy is preserved, serving as a reminder of the scientific and ethical discussions she sparked.

Highlights

The birth of Dolly the sheep in 1997 marked the first successful cloning of an adult mammal, causing global astonishment and ethical debates.

The cloning technique was seen as a scientific revolution comparable to the discovery of the atom bomb, moon rocket, or DNA.

Ethical concerns arose, questioning if humanity was overstepping its bounds by attempting to 'play God' through cloning.

The potential for cloning to create thousands of genetically identical animals opened up new possibilities for medical research and endangered species preservation.

The cloning process was not overly sophisticated, indicating that it could be replicated by college or graduate students, raising further ethical concerns.

The successful cloning of Dolly was achieved by Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut and his team at the Roslin Institute, using a complex method of cell fusion.

Embryologist Bill Richie's method involved fusing a mammary cell from a 6-year-old sheep with an unfertilized egg from which the DNA was removed.

The naming of Dolly was inspired by Dolly Parton, highlighting the humanizing aspect of the cloned lamb.

The secrecy surrounding Dolly's creation was broken just days before the official announcement, causing a media frenzy.

The successful cloning of Dolly was seen as a watershed event in science, with many doubting its feasibility due to the complexity of mammals.

The prospect of human cloning overshadowed the scientific promise of cloning for medical therapies and drug development.

President Clinton's directive banning federal funding for human cloning politicized the issue and influenced the debate on embryonic stem cell research.

The inefficiency and high costs of cloning animals limited its widespread application, despite the potential for medical research.

The early death of Dolly at 6 years due to lung disease raised concerns about the health implications of cloning.

The legacy of Dolly's cloning has been the inspiration for further scientific exploration into stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka's discovery of reprogramming adult cells into stem cells offered an ethical alternative to cloning.

President Obama's lifting of the stem cell funding ban in 2009 marked a significant policy shift in scientific research.

Dolly's impact on science and society continues to be felt, as seen in her display at the National Museum of Scotland.

Transcripts

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the headline on the other major news

story today to which we intended to vote

some time is very simple Hello

Dolly in February of 1997 a fin Dorset

sheep named Dolly sent waves of Future

Shock around the world the first living

breathing clone of an adult mammal it's

possible we're seeing a scientific

explosion comparable to the atom bomb or

the moon rocket or DNA itself

for many it was a case of science gone

too far are we acting more like the

Creator than creatures are we trying to

play the role of God all this

predictions multiplied about just what

this breakthrough would bring soon it

will be possible to give her thousands

of absolutely identical sisters animals

could be cloned with human diseases and

new therapies tested on them endangered

species can take heart this is not an

elaborate sophisticated technique it

means that any decent college or

graduate school student could

potentially clone a human being whatever

became of Dolly and all that speculation

about the Brave New World she ushered

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in on July 5th

1996 Scottish scientist Ian wilmet

received the news he had been waiting

for

lamb number 6 ll3 had been

born first of all I was immensely

relieved that she was alive and

apparently normal there was a slight

feeling of sort

of or if you like at the potential

impact wilmet and his team at the rosin

Institute outside of Edinburgh had spent

several years trying to do what no one

had before to successfully make a clone

of an adult

mammal embryologist bill Richie had

lifted a single mamory cell from a

6-year-old U and fused it to a second

sheep's unfertilized egg which had been

stripped of its

DNA that's the method the actual nuts

and bolts of doing it is is a little bit

more complicated than that in fact

Richie had repeated the same delicate

procedure over 400 times and only one

surviving embryo number 6 ll3 was

carried to turn by a surrogate mother

a lot of the cloned animals previously

had died born and then

died but this particular lamb got onto

its feet very quickly and started

bleeding and looking to um get its first

feed of milk from its mother after the

delivery it was John bracken's wise

crack that christened little 6 ll3 with

the name forever etched in the annals of

scientific

achievement I turned to my colleague and

said the lamb has been created from from

mam cells and basically um I thought it

would be a good idea to call a dolly

after Dolly Parton I don't think I need

to explain any more than

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that the few at Roslin who knew what

made Dolly so special were sworn to

secrecy we knew it was going to be a big

story we were going to get a lot of

media scrutiny and the top journals will

not publish papers about things which

have already been publicized

they managed to keep Dolly under wraps

from July until February then just days

before the news was set to be released

somewhere or other there was a leak and

because it was published in a Sunday

paper you know the thing blew it's a

very long time since a science story on

Sunday made such waves on Monday the

news was that scientists in Scotland had

successfully cloned a sheep in a

laboratory an exact copy made by a

combination of genetics biology and

Technology I think you would say all

hell had broken loose it was just

B A Brave New World has arrived with the

debut of Dolly a seven-month-old lamb

what has caused such a shudder in the

worldwide scientific Community is that

so many scientists doubted it could ever

be done a frog had been cloned in the

1960s but mammals were seen as too

complex it was a seminal Watershed event

and no one saw

coming and people said this is a Rubicon

that we've crossed do we really know

where we are which brings us to the

fundamental question should we be

applauding a mindboggling scientific

breakthrough or be nervous about where

it might lead us picture a world where

hunger has been wiped out by our ability

to clone the best cattle in great number

but where War threatens because some

future Hitler decided to make multiple

copies of

himself what sensationalized it was that

people began to say say well could we do

this with humans and people tended to

assume that this would happen cloning a

human being is closer than almost anyone

had even imagined now it seems that one

day scientists could take a single cell

from a more sophisticated creature say

like me pull out my DNA stick it in a

new cell plant the cell in a womb and 9

months later out would come a genetic

copy of me a

clone the tantalizing Prospect of

cloning human beings soon overshadowed

the true scientific promise of Dolly the

prospect that scientists could one day

use clone cells to develop drugs and

other therapies in the hopes of curing

deadly human

diseases in the scientific world it was

actually more of a nextstep

accomplishment in some ways but in the

popular press this meant that if dolly

was possible maybe you could make an

army of whoever your worst enemy is

recent bestseller The Day After Tomorrow

imagined Hitler recreated from his

Frozen

head and it really extended to a

ghoulish icky misuse of science domain

that people suddenly started thinking in

almost sci-fi terms about what was now

possible begun the Clone War

has and that led to people thinking that

we really need boundaries cuz scientists

look what they can do it's going to take

a shape that's abhorent to us if we

don't get ready for it if we can't ban

the production of people just to serve

as spare ports for the rest of us we

don't have much hope of doing anything

in the world of ethics and law President

Clinton wasted little time coming out as

tough on cloning today I am issuing a

directive that bans the use of any

federal funds for any cloning of human

beings it started to become politicized

from the very beginning you have

presidential commissions senators and

congressmen holding forth on science

what should be funded and what should be

forbid didn't this affected not only

cloning but another recently developed

and promising form of medical research

using embryonic stem cells the building

blocks of the human body these cells

were generally taken from discarded

embryos at fertility clinics which

created an immediate

controversy dolly was very much caught

up in the whole debate about embryonic

stem cells and so there was a lot of

concern about that was really messing

around with something really fundamental

to life scientists have already cloned a

sheep researchers are telling us the

next step could be to clone human beings

to create individual designer stem cells

essentially to grow another you in

August of 2001 President George W bush

restricted federally funded medical

research to a limited number of stem

cell lines many of which turned out to

be useless to American scientists who

had been among the first to isolate

human stem cells the scientific

Community felt like this was really the

very base of a tremendous revolution in

our understanding and treatment of human

disease but we were being constrained

and that really had a very chilling

effect on Research in the US it's kind

of like we invented the first printing

press and then we decided he we're not

going to use it it's too scary and the

Koreans and Indonesians are saying Hey

give it to us we got some books we want

to print while The Cutting Edge of stem

cell research took hold overseas the

latest Feats of cloning continued to

capture the Public's imagination bring

in the Clones numerous cloned animals

made the news as did claims of a human

clone by the rather unscientifically

trained raans and inside your finger you

have small planets then in February of

2003 Dolly the sheep has died a

scientist at The Institute in Scotland

where she was born said she was

diagnosed with Progressive lung disease

she was only 6 years old so here is yet

another warning about cloning critics

long argued Dolly would suffer from

premature AG aging because she was made

from the genetic material of a

6-year-old you and saw her early death

as confirmation of their concerns Dolly

died because of the long disease that

she had a disease commonly passed

between animals in close contact it

wasn't anything to do with her age

although Dolly had developed early

arthritis a postmortem at Roslin

concluded her cloning was not the cause

of her death but what happened to doll's

Legacy and all that specul about a

future full of

clones Dollywood this live animal that

we could look at and touch and feel that

caused us to imagine that there will be

people cloning in their sink in their

backyard and there just wasn't an

understanding of the level of

sophistication and complexity around

this technology few know those

complexities better than Blake Russell

who oversees the viagen company's

cloning operation on this 300 Acre Farm

in Northern Iowa costing upwards of

$20,000 their services are used mainly

by high-end breeders to preserve the

best traits of elite animals the number

of cloned animals around North America

for example would only number today in

the small thousands but yet there would

be literally millions of descendants of

those animals and those offspring are

the ones that are ultimately designed

for the production of meat and milk that

we see on our table it took the creation

of nearly 300 living embryos to make

Dolly and 17 years later the process is

only slightly more efficient the long

odds of success have also tempered much

of the Hope cloning held for medical

research that scientists could create

embryonic stem cells to treat

diseases it wasn't until May 2013 that

scientists in Oregon finally managed to

use the dolly method to produce stem

cells from a Clon human

embryo the the whole technique still has

this inbuilt inefficiency and we don't

know why we needed some alternative to

the dolly approach to creating these

cell types and that's what led to what

really is a revolution in science

Japanese scientist shinya yamanaka

rocked the scientific community in 2006

when he turned ordinary adult cells into

stem cells in mice and then replicated

that success in humans it was a major

science scientific breakthrough that

earned him the Nobel Prize in medicine

in

2012 and also eliminated the ethical

issue that he said motivated him the

controversial use of human embryos you

can accomplish all of the good things

without taking on the baggage of the bad

and now you could actually do this in

most Laboratories around the world stem

cell therapy is still at the very early

stages of development and the jury is

still out on whether yamanaka's

reprogramed cells or those cloned in

Oregon using the dolly method will prove

more

effective Ian wilmet himself gave up

cloning years ago and is using

yamanaka's method in his research on Lou

Garrick's disease in the next 10050

years we'll learn to treat most of the

degenerative diseases it's because of

our ability to produce these stem cells

and study them and it would be because

of our ability to fine cells to put into

the patient and all of that came from

cloning it started people thinking well

if we can take a cell and make it into a

whole animal what else can we do with

those

cells President Obama lifted the ban on

stem cell funding in 2009 but scadden

says its impact on his field still

resonates it is something that is a

little disturbing because it was a way

in which science suddenly was fighting

against non-scientific

principles that Legacy is the one that I

think is the most

troubling Dolly herself is on permanent

display at the national museum of

Scotland she is a favorite among both

kids who never knew a time when making a

clone was pure science fiction and

adults who remembered the stir in the

winter of 1997 when Dolly turned that

fiction into

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fact

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