10月5日，多利羊的克隆者之一，诺丁汉大学生物学院奇斯-坎布尔教授不幸逝世，享年58岁。
 　　10月8日，瑞典科学院宣布今年两位科学家获得2012年生物或医学诺贝尔奖，他们是剑桥大学79岁的约翰-格登教授和日本京都大学的山中伸弥教授。
 　　格登的贡献是他1962年用青蛙的肠细胞克隆了一只青蛙，而山中伸弥的贡献是2006年，他把人体皮肤细胞培养成为干细胞。
 　　但是，光从克隆技术的影响力来说，最大的贡献是奇斯-堪布尔教授和他在爱丁堡大学罗斯林（Roslin）研究所的导师，爱恩-威尔幕特（Ian Wilmut）教授。
 　　在上世纪90年代初，威尔幕特教授领导的研究团队在爱丁堡大学的罗斯林研究所，创造了一个又一个突破性的研究成果。其中，最轰动世界的，就是多利羊的诞生。克隆多利羊的科学原理，当然是基于格登的青蛙克隆理论，也就是说，生物体的每一个细胞所包含的基因是一样的。因此，可以用某个生物体的任何细胞进行培养再生，变成那个生物体的整体。
 　　不过，青蛙不是哺乳动物，它属于低级动物。而低级动物的克隆，相对于高级动物，尤其是哺乳动物的克隆，要容易得多。羊是高级哺乳动物，克隆是很不容易的事情。可是，经过多年的不断努力，威尔幕特和坎贝尔终于在1996年成功的克隆了多利羊。
 　　1999年，诺丁汉大学把堪布尔聘请到了生物学院当教授，并由他带领一个团队继续他的生物发育研究。在他的领导下，克隆猪、克隆牛、更多的克隆羊，产生了。他的贡献是惊人的，他的克隆技术，将可能为今后再生生物，以及人类器官的批量生产，做出无可估量的贡献。
 　　应该说，格登、山本、威尔幕特和堪布尔，都是有资格取得生物或医学诺贝尔奖的。不过，2012年的诺贝尔奖只能给了格登和山本，威尔幕特和堪布尔只能暂时得不到，也不知道今后能不能得到。
 　　然而，不管得到诺贝尔奖与否，坎贝尔和威尔幕特的贡献是不可低估的。诺丁汉大学在沉痛悼念坎贝尔的同时，世界也失去了一位科学泰斗。这个科学泰斗，年轻轻就已经走了，而他留下来的，将是今后医学和生物学发展无法估量的科学遗产。
 　　下面是诺丁汉大学关于奇斯-堪布尔教授的报道。
 　　Professor Keith Campbell, 1954–2012
 　　Tributes have been paid to internationally renowned scientist Professor Keith Campbell, who has died at the age of 58.
 　　Professor Campbell was instrumental in the creation of Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned mammal, a breakthrough which paved the way for the successful cloning of many other mammal species.
  　　Professor Campbell was known around the world for his pioneering work and was jointly awarded the Shaw Prize for Life Science and Medicine in 2008.
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 　　The Shaw Prize – one of the most prestigious scientific accolades in the world – honours individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in scientific research, and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.
  　　Professor Campbell was a cell biologist/embryologist with a research career spanning more than 30 years, the majority of which was in the field of cell growth and differentiation. He joined the University of Nottingham in 1999 as Professor of Animal Development in the School of Biosciences.
　　A brilliant scientist
 　　Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, said: “Keith was a brilliant scientist. His work was genuinely transformational and inspirational. His pioneering research was revolutionary.
  　　“That, together with his passion for science, will ensure he is justifiably remembered for all he accomplished. Keith was also an outstanding colleague whose absence leaves a huge gap. He will be greatly missed. I offer my deepest respect and sympathy to his family.”
  　　An online Book of Condolence has been set up on the University of Nottingham website.
 
　　Professor Campbell began his career by qualifying as a Medical laboratory Technologist specialising in Medical Microbiology, before obtaining a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology from Queen Elizabeth College London. He then went onto the Marie Curie Institute and subsequently the University of Sussex, where he was awarded a D.Phil.
 　　The Roslin Institute
 　　Following two postdoctoral positions he joined the Roslin Institute in Scotland in 1991, where he applied his previous experience to the production of mammalian embryos by nuclear transfer. Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult derived somatic cell, was born in 1996.
  　　Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, who worked with Professor Campbell on the creation of Dolly the Sheep, said: “Always cheerful and friendly, Keith will be greatly missed by all of his friends and colleagues.
  　　“His research blossomed after he came to Roslin Institute where in a series of papers he put the intellectual framework into the method of mammalian cloning that ultimately led to the birth of Dolly in 1996. He then moved to PPLTherapeutics, the company that was spun out from Roslin Institute, where that procedure and his expertise led to the birth of cloned and genetically modified sheep, pigs and cattle.
  　　“In 1999 he was tempted into academia by an offer from the University of Nottingham as Professor of Animal Development. There he continued his research on the cloning and genetic modification of livestock. Much of this research was presented and discussed at the annual meeting of the International Embryo Transfer Society where he will be remembered as an enthusiastic participant in discussions on current topics. He will be sorely missed, but not forgotten.”
 　　Pioneering studies
 　　Professor Kevin Sinclair worked with Professor Campbell at the University of Nottingham’s School of Biosciences.
  　　Professor Sinclair said: “Keith was a giant in the field of reproductive biology. His pioneering studies into cell-cycle control and cellular differentiation led to the programme of work at Roslin that gave birth to the first mammal to be cloned from adult cells – ie. Dolly the sheep.
 　　“This pioneering study has helped pave the way for others to develop gene and stem-cell based strategies for therapeutic purposes. He was an inspiration to both his colleagues and students at Nottingham, and will be greatly missed by all. Our thoughts are currently with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
 　　Professor Neil Crout, Head of the School of Biosciences, said: “Keith was a valued and respected colleague who will be sadly missed across the School of Biosciences.
 　　“His work and scientific achievements speak for themselves and his death is a great loss for developmental biology. Inevitably most people will remember him for Dolly the sheep although his recent work was focused on fundamental and applied stem cell research as a tool for the study of human disease.”
 　　A great friend and collaborator
 　　Professor Jus St.John, Director of the Centre for Reproduction & Development at Monash University, Australia, said: “Keith Campbell was an outstanding and inventive scientist whose foresight and work led to major changes in how we now ask scientific questions and make significant advances.
 　　“Very few scientists of Keith's calibre exist and when they are successful, their impact is immense. The generation of Dolly, which he was the intellectual leader of, was an advance that triggered a revolution in scientific investigation. Without Keith's input, the field of cellular reprogramming would not have made the significant advances that it has.
 　　“I will sorely miss Keith as a great friend and collaborator. I will especially miss designing scientific experiments with him in a relaxed manner that encouraged one to delve deeper.”
 　　Professor Bob Webb, Chief Executive and Principal of the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College), was a colleague of Professor Campbell at both the University of Nottingham and the Roslin Institute.
 　　Professor Webb said: “Keith’s work has had a major impact on our thinking and on our research. He, along with Professor Ian Wilmut and the team, achieved something that at the time was completely novel and ground breaking. This breakthrough opened up new opportunities which have had major scientific impact. His death is a very sad loss for the scientific community – not just in the UK, but internationally as well.”
 　　A deep love for science
 　　Jose Cibelli, Professor of Animal Biotechnology at Michigan State University in the USA, said: “I knew Dr Campbell for almost two decades, first as a competitor, then as a colleague and then as a dear friend.
 　　“While he is known worldwide by the general public because of his role in the generation of Dolly the cloned sheep, his contributions to science are enormous and will be forever lasting. He developed new techniques to produce therapeutic proteins in domestic animals and was the first person to clone pigs, now being used for the generation of organs to potentially treat patients in need of organ transplantation.
 　　“Thanks to his dedication and brilliant intellect the field of regenerative medicine is today closer to the clinics. We anticipate that within the next five years, patients suffering from degenerative diseases will be treated – if not cured – using technology introduced by Dr Campbell. All these scientific breakthroughs Professor Campbell gave us did not happen by chance; they are the product of years of study, hands-on experimentation and above all, a deep love for science.”
 　　Dr Alan Colman, Executive Director of the Singapore Stem Cell Consortium, first met Professor Campbell when he was a postgraduate at Sussex University.
 　　Paying tribute to Professor Campbell’s key role in the work that led to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, Dr Colman said: “The Dolly experiment could not have succeeded without the experimental precision and persistence Keith demonstrated. It was a seminal demonstration of the ability of the mammalian egg to reprogram a somatic nucleus back to a pluripotent state. The main legacy of Dolly was the impact it had on fellow scientists – what seemed impossible suddenly seemed achievable. All down to Keith’s work.
 　　“Science has lost an exceptional scientist and I have lost a great friend.” 
  　　Professor Campbell is survived by his wife, Kathy Campbell and his two adult daughters, Claire and Lauren Mills.