Dolly the Sheep’s Fleece Donated to National Museums Scotland
The fleece of Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, has been contributed to National Museums Scotland. Dr. William A. Ritchie, the embryologist from the Roslin Institute team that created Dolly, donated the fleece along with equipment such as sharpened glass pipettes and an electrical fusion machine to the museum. The fleece and lab equipment were recently appraised at £20,000 to £30,000 on the Antiques Roadshow.
After undergoing a five-day quarantine in the National Museums Collection Centre freezer, Dolly’s fleece has been added to the collection alongside her skeleton, death mask, and other cloned sheep. Dolly’s birth in 1996 at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh revolutionized scientific understanding of biology and medicine. Named after Dolly Parton, the country and western singer, Dolly spent her entire life at the institute, giving birth to six lambs before passing away in 2003. Now, her well-preserved fleece and lab instruments will be available to researchers, ensuring her scientific legacy for generations to come.
