Here's a breakdown:
* 1952: The first successful cloning of an animal (a tadpole) was achieved by Robert Briggs and Thomas King. This involved nuclear transfer, which is the core technique used in cloning.
* 1996: Dolly the sheep was born, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. This was a major breakthrough, as it demonstrated that cloning from a differentiated cell was possible.
* Since 1996: Cloning technology has continued to develop, with successes in cloning various animals like pigs, cows, and even cats.
Therefore, you could say that cloning was "invented" in 1952 with the first successful animal cloning. However, the ability to clone mammals from adult cells, which is the most well-known form of cloning, wasn't achieved until 1996.
It's important to remember that cloning is a complex process with a long history of research and development.
