Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, died on this day in Edinburgh in 2003.

Hailed as a scientific sensation, Dolly was born at the Roslin Institute in the capital on July 5 1996. Her birth was only publicly announced early the following year.

She was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult, rather than embryonic cell. Her arrival was widely reporting, bringing the issue of cloning out from the science lab and into the living room.

One of the main scientists in the project Ian Wilmut explained the reason behind Dolly’s name, saying “"Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's.”

She lived at the Roslin Institute all her life, and bore six lambs.

Dolly was put down on February 14, 2003 after scientists at the Roslin Institute discovered she was suffering from a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis.

A postmortem examination confirmed the cause of Dolly's lung problems as sheep pulmonary adenomatosis (SPA), a lung tumor brought on by a virus.

Her death at age six raised further questions - did she die young because she was a clone?

Since Dolly was produced, other large mammals have been cloned. However, the process is extremely inefficient. Dolly was the only lamb to survive to adulthood in 277 attempts.

Ian Wilmut announced in 2007 that his technique for cloning animals may never be efficient enough to use on humans.

Dolly's taxidermied remains are currently on display at the National Museum of Scotland.