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Dolly the Sheep Becomes the First Adult Mammal Cloned
In 1996, scientists cloned a female domestic sheep using adult somatic cells from the mammary glands through the process of nuclear transfer. The resulting sheep, Dolly, matured and reproduced naturally. Dolly was a significant biological breakthrough, because she demonstrated not only that a full, separate embryo with properly expressed cells of all types could be cloned from a cell taken from a specific part of the body, but also that the cell could come from a fully developed adult. -
RNA Interference Discovered
A series of experiments published by the pair in 1998 revealed that gene expression is controlled by a phenomenon called RNA interference. This process defends against viruses that try to insert themselves into DNA, and controls gene expression. This discovery was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2006 and has directly led to research on “silence genes” that cause problems for the body, such as the gene causing high blood pressure, so that genetic diseases can be treated more easily. -
Human Genome Mapped
The Human Genome Project reveals in intricate detail exactly what it is that makes us human, showing the placement of every chromosome that contains all the genetic material that makes us who we are. With the information from individual genome maps, scientists can not only discover genetic diseases better, but also uncover new clues about everything from a person’s body odor to that person’s tendencies towards addiction. -
Stem Cells Created from Mature Skin Cells
In 2007, two separate teams of scientists from Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison reverted adult skin cells, so that they could act like pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into nearly all cells.This new process changed the “programming” of the cells telling them to become skin in favor of acting like embryonic stem cells that could end up being virtually any kind of cell. -
Robotic Limbs Fully Controlled by the Brain
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prosthesis controlled by neural signals from the wearer’s brain for use by the general public. This is the culmination of almost two decades of biomedical research. In 2000, researchers at Duke University Medical Center implanted electrodes in monkeys’ brains to control a robotic arm and pick up food. By 2004, a noninvasive method of picking up brainwaves was developed and being used to control biomedical devices.