London (EFE).- British scientist Ian Wilmut, “father” of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from adult cells, has died at the age of 79, the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh reported this Monday.
The biologist and his team devised the pioneering technique that led to the birth of the famous sheep, on July 5, 1996, and revolutionized the field of genetic cloning.
Wilmut’s work “had a global reach,” said Bruce Whitelaw, director of the Scottish academic institution where the breakthrough was carried out, who stressed that his legacy continues to inspire numerous discoveries in “research in human and animal biology.” ”.
The scientist had retired from the academic world in 2012 and six years later he had made public that he suffered from Parkinson’s.
“He was a titan” whose work “transformed the scientific thinking of his time,” said Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh.
Paradigm change with the Dolly case
“The impact of his work will last for generations. “He was a hugely respected scientist, a mentor and a friend,” he added.
The famous Dolly – named after the American singer Dolly Parton – came to life from a cell from the mammary gland of a Dorset Finn sheep, and her existence was kept secret until early 1997.
Until then, the scientific community thought that specialized adult cells only contained information to carry out their particular function and it was considered impossible that they could give rise to a complete animal.
Dolly even had babies
Wilmut’s team managed, however, to start a new life from one of those adult cells and an egg that they developed in a test tube for six days, before transferring them to a surrogate mother.
To obtain that result, Wilmut led a large team with scientists from various fields, including embryology, surgeons, veterinarians and livestock specialists.
Dolly had several babies, between 1998 and 2000, and enjoyed a “normal quality of life” – according to the Roslin Institute’s description – until February 2003, when several tumors were discovered in her lungs and it was decided to euthanize her to prevent her suffering.
