Ian Wilmut became famous in one fell swoop in February 1997 when he announced that his team at the Scottish Roslin Institute had cloned a mammal from an adult body cell for the first time – a sheep, which he named Dolly with dubious humor. Dolly after the big-breasted country singer Dolly Parton. The clone sheep was created from an udder cell of another sheep, which it now resembled down to the wool: Both were genetically almost identical, clones.
Back then, Wilmut had to endure severe criticism, and not just because of the humorous name. Internationally, other scientists feared that his team would pave the way for the cloning of humans by developing cloning technology. But Wilmut repeatedly emphasized that this was far from his concern. He was always only concerned with scientific progress and the possibilities of curing diseases with the help of cloned animals or cells.
He has now died at the age of 79, like his research center announced on their homepage. Ian Wilmut had suffered from Parkinson’s for many years – one of the diseases that scientists are now trying to cure with the help of cloning and stem cell techniques.
For months, Wilmut and his team had kept secret Dolly’s birth. The sheep had already been born in July 1996 by a surrogate mother sheep after it had been conceived in the laboratory: solely from the udder cell of its clone, including the genes it contained, and an egg cell from another sheep, from which the nucleus and thus the genes had been removed. There was no need for male semen.
The scientists wanted to wait and see whether Dolly would develop well before announcing her birth. For several years the animal enjoyed great popularity and attention in what was probably the only sheepfold in the world where a guest book was displayed. Only over time did various illnesses appear, some of which were attributed to the strange process of Dolly’s creation. At the age of six, the famous sheep finally died after contracting pneumonia. Dolly has been stuffed in Scotland’s National Museum ever since.
Whether Ian Wilmut was really Dolly’s “spiritual father” is quite controversial. In any case, the lead scientist behind cloning was Keith Campbell. As the head of the working group, Wilmut received the greatest fame – as well as the greatest criticism.
The controversial scientist was born in July 1944 as the son of a teacher and a teacher near Stratford-upon-Avon. He was already interested in biology at school. He studied veterinary science at the University of Nottingham and completed his doctorate at Cambridge, where he worked on reproductive techniques such as sperm and embryo freezing. In Scotland he finally devoted himself to cloning techniques. His goal: the production of genetically modified animals and ultimately the cure of degenerative diseases, which include not only Parkinson’s but also dementias such as Alzheimer’s and the nervous disease multiple sclerosis.
Wilmut’s commitment to research did not stop when he became seriously ill himself. As a patient, he participated in research studies to test new treatments. Ian Wilmut leaves behind a wife, three children and five grandchildren.