Dolly's death 'reveals cloning dangers', says creator

A Singapore-based scientist who was part of the team that created Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, today said her premature death was proof of the many dangers of cloning.

Dolly was destroyed yesterday after premature ageing and disease marred her short existence and raised questions about the practicality of copying life.

The decision to end Dolly’s life at the age of six – about half the life expectancy of her breed – was made because a veterinarian confirmed she had a progressive lung disease, according to the Roslin Institute, the Scottish lab where she was created and lived.

“I think it highlights more than ever the foolishness of those who want to legalise reproductive cloning,” said Alan Colman, one of the scientists behind Dolly’s birth in 1996.

“In the case of humans, it would be scandalous to go ahead given our knowledge about the long-term effects of cloning,” Colman said.

“Obviously it is the end of a sort of era,” he said. “I was very fond of the old girl.”

Dolly was the first mammal cloned from an adult stem cell. Since then, whole herds of cattle, sheep, pigs and other animals have been cloned.

Last year, Colman left his post as research director of Edinburgh-based PPL Therapeutics, which helped clone Dolly. He considers himself one of Dolly’s ”godfathers.”

Colman moved to Singapore to set up a laboratory for an Australian-based venture.

His move was a coup for the Southeast Asian city-state, which has been aggressively trying to promote its biotechnology industry. Singapore is an investor in his new company, ES Cell International.