The scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep has died aged 79.
Sir Ian Wilmut was part of the team who carried out the scientific feat in 1996.
The scientist led the Roslin Institute team as they created the first mammal to be cloned from an adult stem cell.
His death was announced by the University of Edinburgh, where he worked from 2005 until his retirement in 2012. In 2018 he announced he had Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: ‘We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Sir Ian Wilmut.
‘He was a titan of the scientific world, leading the Roslin Institute team who cloned Dolly the sheep – the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell – which transformed scientific thinking at the time.
‘This breakthrough continues to fuel many of the advances that have been made in the field of regenerative medicine that we see today.
‘Our thoughts are with Ian’s family at this time.’
Dolly the sheep was cloned from a cell taken from the mammary gland of a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep and an egg cell from a Scottish Blackface sheep.
She died in 2003 and her body was donated to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
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