Clones of Dolly the sheep are in good health, says research

London - A study led by scientists at the University of Nottingham in England, said on Tuesday that the four cloned sheep from the same genetic material as the famous Dolly aging healthily.

The report, published Nature Communications and showed that the cloning process does not alter or affect the physical animal welfare, concluded that the four completed 9 years and follow healthy and strong, with no sign of suffering from metabolic diseases.

Debbie, Denise, Dianna and Daisy, known as the "Dollys Nottingham", are part of a group of 13 sheep aged 7 and 9 years old that were designed in the laboratory and monitored by a team of scientists from the University of Nottingham.

The four animals were created through genetic material derived from the same cell line the mammary glands that Dolly, which turns them into practical terms in the famous sheep clones.

On the last day July 5, was completed 20 years of the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell and one of the most celebrated made in the genetic research field.

The famous sheep died on February 14, 2003 to six years old, after contracting a lung infection.

In addition, he suffered from arthritis, which led the scientific community to think that cloned animals aged more fast or not grow in health conditions as good as those conceived naturally.

However, after the researchers performing evaluations of locomotor system and metabolic system of the new sheep, they concluded that some suffering from mild to moderate osteoarthritis, but no need of treatment for the disease.

Professor Kevin Sinclair of the University of Nottingham, author of the first long-term research on the health status of large cloned animals, expressed satisfaction with the results.

"After the tests of glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and blood pressure, we note that our clones, taking into account their age, have good health," he said.

Sinclair indicated that the cloning system SCNT (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, its acronym in English), by which Dolly and four sheep were created, still has a low efficiency.

"We are making improvements in this method to be derived in the use of SCNT to produce stem cells for therapeutic purposes in humans and also to create fertile and productive transgenic animals," he explained.