Dolly starred in genetics exhibition

Dolly the sheep starred in a University exhibition during the Festival Fringe, chronicling a century of genetics research in Edinburgh.

The world’s most famous sheep was on display alongside rare books, archive documents, pictures, sound and film clips.

Celebrating science

Also on show was a microscope from the University’s Roslin Institute that was used to create the cloned embryo that led to Dolly’s birth.

The exhibition - titled ‘Towards Dolly’ - celebrated Edinburgh’s contributions to the field of genetic science, from animal breeding research in the early 1900s, to the cutting-edge stem cell techniques employed today.

Breeding studies

It included photographs of early breeding studies involving zebras and horses.

These helped scientists to understand how physical characteristics - such as coat markings and colour - could be passed from one generation to the next.

Dolly is the most famous chapter in Edinburgh's long genetics history. This exhibition tells the wider story of the many pioneering discoveries which have taken place here, taking our visitors ‘towards Dolly’ and beyond.

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