DOLLY THE CLONED SHEEP PREGNANT

March 28, 1999

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) - Dolly the sheep, the first mammalcloned from an adult cell, is expected to give birth to her secondlamb in the next few days, scientists said.

Dolly was born in July 1996 at Edinburgh's Roslin Instituteafter scientists inserted a cell from a ewe's udder into an eggfrom the same animal after removing the egg's DNA. She was namedafter singer Dolly Parton.

Dolly's creators say it is important to breed from clonedanimals to check for any unexpected changes in their offspring.

Her first lamb, Bonnie, was born last April after she was matedwith a Welsh mountain ram. No defects have so far been detected inBonnie, who is a "perfectly healthy" animal, said Dr. Ian Wilmutof the Roslin Insititute.

Scientists are not planning to give the next lamb a name.