Well, that’s a relief.
University of Minnesota professors gene sequenced a corn dog. Guess what they found.
There is actually corn in the Minnesota fair favorite, but what about that “dog” part?
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 6, 2024 at 11:30AM
Results are in from a trial run of a University of Minnesota experiment to conduct the first gene sequencing of a corn dog.
A preliminary test on a frozen grocery store corn dog reveals the presence of the species Bos taurus, Triticum aestivum and Zea mays, also known as cow, wheat and corn, respectively.
Happily, they discovered no evidence of dog — or anything else unsavory.
“Good news on the corndog DNA. Turns out it’s entirely made out of beef, wheat, and corn, just like it says on the package,” according to an email from Christopher Faulk, associate professor of functional genomics at the university’s Department of Animal Science.
“I wouldn’t eat it because it contains too much sodium,” he added. “But it’s otherwise innocuous.”
But this was just a trial run.
The real sequencing won’t take place until the researchers test a corn dog served at the Minnesota State Fair later this month at the University’s Driven to Discover Research Facility on the fairgrounds.
Dr. Beth Thielen, assistant professor of pediatrics at the U Medical School, said the researchers may find it challenging to extract the nucleic acid out of the State Fair favorite, once it’s been subjected to the harsh environment of a deep fryer.
The State Fair corn dog experiment is a lighthearted way for Faulk and Thielen to draw attention to the technology being used at the university for more serious research to track infectious diseases.
Thielen, an infectious disease expert, hopes that the corn dog experiment will help recruit potential participants at the fair for a study that will follow 500 households in the region and use gene sequencing technology to identify emerging respiratory diseases and determine how they’re spreading.
The informal name for the study is called “Got Snot?”
Meanwhile, the corn dog experiment has inspired another academic exercise.
A class in the Winona State University Legal Studies Program has a project to prepare a portfolio of legal work for a startup company supporting “a fictitious corn dog sequencing company that will sequence corn dog genetic material at state and county fairs nationally,” according to adjunct professor Julie Lewis.
Lewis said the students will be making a field trip as part of the assignment. In fact, you may see them at the Great Minnesota Get-Together.
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