She British scientist Ian Wilmut, “father” of to Dolly the first mammal cloned from adult cells, died at the age of 79, the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh reported this Monday.
The biologist and his team created the pioneering technique that led to the birth of the famous lamb, on July 5, 1996and revolutionized the field of genetic cloning.
Wilmut’s work “It has a global reach,” said Bruce Whitelaw, director of the Scottish institution where the collapse was made, who emphasized that its legacy continues to inspire many discoveries in “research on human and animal biology.
The scientist has retired from academia in 2012 and six years later he announced publicly that he was suffering parkinson.
“He was a titan” whose work “changed the scientific thinking of his time,” said Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh.
“The impact of his work will last for generations. He is a highly respected scientist, a teacher 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 The scientific community believes that specialized adult cells contain only information to fulfill their particular task and it is considered impossible that they will be able to produce a complete animal.
Wilmut’s team did, however, start a new life from one of those mature cells and an egg which they did in a test tube for six days, before transferring it to a surrogate mother.
To get that result, Wilmut led a large team with scientists from different fields, including embryology, surgeons, veterinarians and livestock specialists.
Dolly had several children, between 1998 and 2000, and he enjoyed a “normal quality of life” – as described by the Roslin Institute – until February 2003, when several tumors were discovered in his lungs and it was decided to euthanize him to prevent his death. suffer.