عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

UK Scientist Who Created Dolly the Sheep Clone Dies at 79

FILE - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut is seen in the Pauls Church in Frankfurt, central Germany, Monday, March 14, 2005. Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose research was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, has died, the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said Monday. He was 79. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut is seen in the Pauls Church in Frankfurt, central Germany, Monday, March 14, 2005. Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose research was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, has died, the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said Monday. He was 79. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
TT
20
TT

UK Scientist Who Created Dolly the Sheep Clone Dies at 79

FILE - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut is seen in the Pauls Church in Frankfurt, central Germany, Monday, March 14, 2005. Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose research was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, has died, the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said Monday. He was 79. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut is seen in the Pauls Church in Frankfurt, central Germany, Monday, March 14, 2005. Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose research was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, has died, the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said Monday. He was 79. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

British scientist Ian Wilmut, whose research was central to the creation of the cloned animal, Dolly the Sheep, has died at the age of 79, the University of Edinburgh said on Monday.
His death on Sunday years after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, was announced by the University of Edinburgh, where he worked, Reuters said.
Wilmut, along with Keith Campbell from the animal sciences research institute in Scotland, generated news headlines and heated ethical debates in 1996 when they created Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.
"He led efforts to develop cloning, or nuclear transfer, techniques that could be used to make genetically modified sheep. It was these efforts which led to the births of Megan and Morag in 1995 and Dolly in 1996," the university said in a statement.
Dolly, named after country singer Dolly Parton, was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
This involved taking a sheep egg, removing its DNA and replacing it with DNA from a frozen udder cell of a sheep that died years before. The egg was then zapped with electricity to make it grow like a fertilized embryo. No sperm were involved.
Dolly’s creation triggered fears of human reproductive cloning, or producing genetic copies of living or dead people, but mainstream scientists have ruled this out as far too dangerous.
Wilmut, who was born near Stratford-upon-Avon, attended the University of Nottingham, initially to study agriculture, before switching to animal science.
He moved to the University of Edinburgh in 2005, received a knighthood in 2008 and retired from the university in 2012.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Brazil Court Majority Favors Tougher Social Media Rules

Brazil's Supreme Court has already taken a strong stance on social media regulation. Evaristo Sa / AFP/File
Brazil's Supreme Court has already taken a strong stance on social media regulation. Evaristo Sa / AFP/File
TT
20
TT

Brazil Court Majority Favors Tougher Social Media Rules

Brazil's Supreme Court has already taken a strong stance on social media regulation. Evaristo Sa / AFP/File
Brazil's Supreme Court has already taken a strong stance on social media regulation. Evaristo Sa / AFP/File

Brazil's Supreme Court reached a majority Wednesday in favor of toughening social media regulation, in a groundbreaking case for Latin America on the spread of fake news and hate speech.

The South American country's highest court is seeking to determine to what extent companies like X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are responsible for removing illegal content, and how they can be sanctioned if they do not, reported AFP.

The judges' final ruling will create a precedent that will affect tens of millions of social media users in Brazil.

At issue is a clause in the country's so-called Civil Framework for the Internet -- a law in effect since 2014 that says platforms are only responsible for harm caused by a post if they ignore a judge's order to remove it.

By Wednesday, six of the court's 11 judges had ruled in favor of higher accountability, meaning sites should monitor content and remove problematic posts on their own initiative, without judicial intervention.

One judge has voted against tougher regulation, and four have yet to express an opinion.

"We must, as a court, move in the direction of freedom with responsibility and regulated freedom, which is the only true freedom," Judge Flavio Dino said during Wednesday's session, broadcast online.

Not doing so would be like "trying to open an airline without regulation in the name of the right of free movement," he added.

Google, for its part, said in a statement that changing the rules "will not contribute to ending the circulation of unwanted content on the internet."

Coup plot

Alexandre de Moraes, one of the court's judges, has repeatedly clashed with X owner Elon Musk and various right-wing personalities over social media posts.

The review is taking place in parallel with the Supreme Court trial of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is alleged to have collaborated on a coup plot to remain in power after his 2022 election defeat.

Prosecutors say Bolsonaro's followers used social media to lie about the reliability of the electoral system and plot the downfall of successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Last year, Moraes blocked X for 40 days for failing to comply with a series of court orders against online disinformation.

He had previously ordered X to suspend the accounts of several Bolsonaro supporters.

Musk and other critics say Moraes is stifling free speech, and US President Donald Trump's administration is weighing sanctions against the judge, whom Bolsonaro accuses of judicial "persecution."

Lula, who emerged the victor in the tightly-fought 2022 election against Bolsonaro, is advocating for "accelerating regulation" of online platforms.