Sheep ideal research subjects, and thus are not a common model organism. They have, however, played an influential role in some fields of science. In particular, the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland used sheep for genetics research that produced groundbreaking results. In 1995, two ewes named Megan and Morag were the first mammals cloned from differentiated cells. A year later, a Finnish Dorset sheep named Dolly, dubbed "the world's most famous sheep" in "Scientific American", was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. Following this, Polly and Molly were the first mammals to be simultaneously cloned and
Royana (cloned sheep) Royana (cloned sheep) Royana (2006–2010) is Iran's and the Middle East's first successfully cloned sheep. Royana was a brown male domestic sheep and was cloned in the Royan Research Institute in Isfahan, Iran (The word "Royan" means "embryo" in Persian). He was the second cloned sheep in Royan Research Institute, but whereas the first sheep died few hours after birth, Royana lived for a few years. On September 30, 2006, a group of scientists in Iran cloned Royana from an adult cell in a test tube in a laboratory. After the embryo proved its stability, scientists transferred it to the