That isn't quite right. Whilst this was a concern as she did have shorter telomeres, it was shown that she didn't age prematurely. Whilst the osteoarthritis was unusual for a sheep of her age, it's not unheard of.Coëmgenu wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:02 pm The gradual deterioration of the DNA in cells is the reason why the cloned sheep Dolly died early and had many health complications. Though "Dolly" was young, the cells used to produce her were not. It was "aged DNA," thus deteriorated DNA. If we have any biologists here and I've made a mistake, please correct me. AFAIK, this is true information.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin/about/dolly ... e-of-dollyWhen Dolly was a year old, analysis of her DNA showed that her telomeres - caps on the ends of DNA molecules that protect them from damage - were shorter than would be expected for a normal sheep of the same age.
As an animal or person ages, their telomeres become progressively shorter, exposing the DNA to more damage.
It was thought that, because Dolly's DNA came from an adult sheep, her telomeres had not been fully renewed during her development. This could have meant that Dolly was biologically older than her actual age.
However, extensive health screens on Dolly at the time did not find any conditions which could be directly related to premature or accelerated ageing.
Dolly spent her life at the Roslin Institute and, apart from the occasional media appearance, led a normal existence with the other sheep at the Institute.
Over the years, Dolly had a total of six lambs with a Welsh Mountain ram called David. Their first lamb, Bonnie, was born in April 1998.
In 2001, Dolly was diagnosed with arthritis after farm staff noticed her walking stiffly. This was successfully treated with anti-inflammatory medication, although the cause of the arthritis was never discovered.
After Dolly gave birth to her last lambs in September 2000, it was discovered that she had become infected by a virus called Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), which causes lung cancer in sheep. Other sheep at the Roslin Institute had also been infected with JSRV in the same outbreak.
Dolly continued to have a normal quality of life until February 2003, when she developed a cough. A CT scan showed tumours growing in her lungs and the decision was made to euthanise Dolly rather than risk her suffering. Dolly was put to sleep on 14 February 2003, at the age of six.