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Dolly the cloned sheep has developed arthritis at the relatively young age of
five and a half, say scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland where she
was created. But they say it is impossible to know whether the cloning process
is to blame, or whether her condition is an unhappy coincidence. Sheep usually
live around 13 years, and those that get arthritis tend to develop it in the
knee and hips. Dolly has the condition in her elbow. Only long-term, large-scale
studies of cloned animals will reveal all the health implications of the cloning
procedure, says Ian Wilmut, Dolly’s creator at Roslin.