Minnesota State Fair: Corn dog genes entice snot study participants

U of M scientists run gene testing on corn dogs

University of Minnesota scientists are testing genes of a corn dog at the Minnesota State Fair to encourage people to donate snot to study respiratory diseases in Minnesota.

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A University of Minnesota team is taking its research on the road and taking up a scientific collection at the fair. They’ve found the Great Minnesota Get-Together is a great source for snot.

It might sound silly, but they’re doing genetic sequencing on corn dogs. And once people see how simple it can be, they may be more inclined to dig deep and donate the snot needed to study respiratory diseases in Minnesota.

Even science is on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair. University of Minnesota researchers brought sophisticated genetic sequencing technology to the Driven to Discover booth to do DNA analysis on, of all things, corn dogs.

"We’re using it to determine what animals make up the dog portion of the corn dog," said Dr. Christopher Faulk, an animal science professor at the University of Minnesota. "What plants make up the corn or the batter part of the corn dog."

Dr. Faulk’s sequencing, made simple, serves as a bridge to a more complicated study.

"We’re in an exciting time where the technology has evolved in such a way that we can use the same device both to tell us what kind of meat is in a corndog and to tell you what virus is making you sick," said Dr. Beth Thielen, a pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Thielen’s study is called "Got Snot?"

"So we want to find those people in Minnesota who have snot that they're willing to share with us," Dr. Thielen said.

The professor and her research assistants are recruiting volunteers to submit nasal swabs so they can use the same genetic sequencing technology to track respiratory illnesses — like COVID-19 or the flu — and maybe even spot new ones.

And they say the fair is the perfect population sample, with people from all walks of life.

"This is really a slice of the Minnesota population, and that's what we're aiming for, is we want our study to be able to, you know, speak to what's going on in Minnesota," said Dr. Thielen.

By the way, Dr. Faulk says genetic sequencing has shown that corn dogs are made of exactly what the label says.

So there’s no pork in the all-beef dogs.