Stem cell research might be 20 years behind where it is today if Dolly the Sheep had never been born, according to the scientist whose team created the world’s first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

THE scientist who created Dolly the Sheep was yesterday granted a licence to clone human embryos in an attempt to find a cure for motor neurone disease.

A leading British scientist announced today that he wants to clone human embryos, saying it would be “immoral” not to carry out the research.

The creator of Dolly the sheep hopes to lodge the first application to clone human embryos in Britain within six months, it emerged today.

Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, has developed arthritis, one of her creators said today.