22/02/2026
Unlike most lambs, Dolly’s life started in a test tube. Her birth was kept secret for seven months. It was announced on February 22, 1997, and was not only a belated way to celebrate her arrival but also a confirmation that she had made history as the world’s first successfully cloned mammal. It took 276 attempts to create a successful clone, but Dolly the cloned Finn-Dorset sheep was finally born on July 5, 1996.
Named after country music star Dolly Parton, the ewe proved that scientists could take a specialised adult cell and use it to create new life.
Learn more: https://www.nature.com/articles/385810a0