Send in the clones.

On July 5, 1996, scientists at Scotland’s Roslin Institute succeeded in cloning the first livestock mammal using a somatic cell obtained from an adult animal. To produce Dolly the sheep, researchers replaced the nucleus of an egg with a nucleus isolated from the udder of a six-year old sheep. Roslin Institute announced Dolly’s birth in early 1997. The news incited visions of herds of cloned animals. The point might have been missed that researchers had tried over 270 times to produce one cloned sheep. Dolly’s arrival raised questions about food products made from cloned livestock. Would the food be safe for human consumption? In January, US and European agencies offered their views. The opinions are so similar, they’re almost clones.