How Cloning a Sheep Set Off a Sci Fi Panic
- Producers:
- Andrew Fredericks
- Matt Spolar
- Editors:
- David Feinberg
- Andrew Fredericks
“Scientists clone adult sheep,” read the headline splashed across the front of a British newspaper in the winter of 1997. Soon, the rest of the world would meet Dolly, the product of a team of Scottish scientists who took a mammary cell from an adult sheep, fused it to another sheep’s unfertilized egg and created an identical twin.
A rush of media attention gave way, almost instantaneously, to speculation and anxiety about what this new discovery meant for man’s ability to manipulate biology – a controversy compounded by a brewing debate over the ethics of embryonic stem cell work.
Dolly’s story explores the friction between science and politics, and what happens when a breakthrough is so tangible and profound that it provokes both our highest hopes and greatest fears.
More Like This
Are Robots Really Taking Over?
Humans are wary that robots could replace them. So what can we learn from the legendary chess match between a supercomputer and Garry Kasparov?
Online All the Time? Researchers Predicted It.
Our social media addiction is explained by theories pioneered by B.F. Skinner decades ago.
Can We Teach Cars to Drive? It's an Uphill Challenge.
Autonomous vehicle technology has gotten better, but how close are we really to a time when a robot chauffeur will be able to safely drive us?
The Moon’s Lasting Pull
Our moon has winked from the heavens as a symbol and anchor, reminding us not only the cycle of life, but also of danger and death. Scientists have brought the moon into sharper focus, and astronauts have left the first footprints there. But will we ever be able to explain its lasting, mesmerizing power of attraction?