Turkey DNA

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted November 22, 2007 in DNA Fun, DNA Quotes and Excerpts, DNA and the Law

No Thanksgiving for us here in London but that doesn’t meant there isn’t turkey. Some people have a few more turkeys than they’re allowed, though. People like Justin Michael Jones who was convicted of wild turkey poaching in the first ever case of its kind using DNA evidence. DNA from five wild turkeys in Jones’s freezer was compared to a wild turkey DNA database established by wildlife geneticist Karen Mock at Utah State University.

And I leave you with an excerpt of an interview with Dr. Jonathan Wells who talks about turkey DNA and dinosaur bones. The interview is from Lee Strobel’s book – The Case for a Creator.

“So these people said they found turkey DNA in a dinosaur bone–and it actually got published in Science magazine! This is just incredible to me! The headline in the magazine said with a straight face: ‘Dinos and Turkeys: Connected by DNA?’”

The last story begged the next question: “How in the world do you explain how turkey DNA got in there?”

Shaking his head, Wells said, “Maybe someone dropped a turkey sandwich in the dig or there was lab contamination.”

NB: Yes, I’m aware that Lee Strobel’s book argues for intelligent design but how can I pass up a story about turkey DNA? We can talk about who’s the turkey here another day.

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, turkey, turkeys, wild turkey

(5 comments)

RSS feed

5 Comments

Comment by David Bradley

2007-11-23 10:02:11

I guess it had to be done. Although watch out for that old H5N1 variant

db

Reply to this comment

Comment by Mary Emma

2007-11-23 20:11:57

Good story, Hsien, for turkey day. We actually had stuffed pork loin for our Thanksgiving dinner. I was just doing some research for a newspaper article on Victorian Christmases and discovered that they served roast turkey, as well as roast goose and roast beef for Christmas dinner during that era. For some reason I hadn’t placed roast turkey on the Victorians menu.

Reply to this comment

Comment by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

2007-11-27 09:20:09

Mary Emma, Stuffed pork loin sounds delicious! I do miss turkey and cranberry sauce, though. Luckily, that’s not hard to come by here in the UK. Festive season or no.

(Comments wont nest below this level)

Reply here

 

 

Comment by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

2007-11-27 09:19:22

David, Please stop spreading your paranoia here.

Reply to this comment

 

 

Pingback by How Did This Get There?

2007-11-23 21:12:37

[...] autism, adults with autism, and the show here. How did the turkey DNA get in the dinosaur bone? Eye on DNA has a (possible) answer by way of an interview with Dr. Jonathan Wells: Maybe someone dropped a [...]

Reply to this comment

 

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.