Cloning could be safe as Dolly the sheep was much healthier than we thought

Scientists say early fears that cloning may have given Dolly the Sheep arthritis were unfounded. (PA)

Cloning could be far safer than previously believed, as new analysis shows that Dolly the sheep did not age prematurely, nor did she develop arthritis.

Previously, scientists believed that genetic problems caused by the cloning process led Dolly to age more quickly, leading to osteoarthritis.

But a new assessment of Dolly’s skeleton by experts from the University of Nottingham and the University of Glasgow suggests that the sheep was perfectly normal.

Most popular on Yahoo News UK

Mysterious booms are being heard around the world – and experts are baffled
Photo bought for £7 at flea market ‘shows Billy the Kid and could be worth millions’
Woman raises over $100,000 for homeless veteran who gave her his last $20 when she was stranded
Shop worker turns tables on knife-wielding robber by flashing her own blade
Notorious MS-13 gang decapitates man and cuts out his heart in Maryland

When Dolly was born in 1996, she was the first animal ever cloned from an adult cell.

Professor Sandra Corr of Glasgow University, said: ‘We found that the prevalence and distribution of radiographic osteoarthritis was similar to that observed in naturally conceived sheep, and our healthy aged cloned sheep.

‘As a result we conclude that the original concerns that cloning had caused early-onset osteoarthritis in Dolly were unfounded.’