Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and… Scientists have spent decades studying what they call the ‘sixth sense’. magetosensitivity, the ability of some creatures to ‘feel’ the Earth’s magnetism and thus they always know their position and orient themselves, for example, during their migration. There’s a new study showing that The ‘sixth sense’, which detects magnetic fields, is more common than previously thought.. Actually, appears to be present in all animals, including humans.
Scientists have known for some time now that the monarch butterfly, turtle, pigeon and Many other animal species use the Earth’s magnetic field to travel long distances. This work went a step further without getting lost.
The paper, published in the journal ‘Nature’, represents a significant advance in understanding how animals sense and respond to magnetic fields. But, in addition, it can be a step forward. development of new tools to measure the activity of biological cells, including humansand how they can be selectively excited by magnetic fields.
Study with fruit or vinegar flies (Drosophila melanogaster), showing for the first time that a molecule found in all living cells can achieve sufficiently high amounts of magnetic susceptibility in a biological system. Name: flavin adenine nucleotide (FAD for short).
Discovery can mean The biological molecules necessary to detect magnetic fields are more or less present in all living things.. And with them, the potential to ‘feel’ magnetic fields and use them to determine positions, distances and routes.
The fly reveals the mystery
“Through seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling, we understand very well how we perceive the outside world. However, it is still unknown which animals can detect the magnetic field and how they react to it,” says the co-chairman. and neuroscientist, Richard Baines of the University of Manchester.
“This work has Significant advances in understanding how animals sense and respond to external magnetic fieldsIt’s a very active and controversial area,” adds Baines.
The research team manipulated the gene map. fruit fly to test your suggestions. Although this species has a very different external appearance than a human, it has a nervous system that works exactly the same and has therefore been used as a human in numerous studies. model for understanding human biology.
it wasn’t easy to go deep magneto detectionBecause unlike the photons of light or sound waves used by the other senses, they are much more difficult to perceive than the five ‘usual’ senses. magnetic fields carry very little energyand therefore has much less impact.
How do living things perceive the magnetic field? Thank you quantum physics And cryptochromea photosensitive protein found in animals and plants that functions as a light and magnetic sensor.
“The absorption of light by the cryptochrome causes the movement of an electron within the protein, which, due to quantum physics, can form an active cryptochrome form that occupies one of the two states. The presence of a magnetic field affects the relative populations of the two. A quantum chemist and research team at the National Physical Laboratory.” states that this affects the ‘active lifespan’ of the protein,” explains Alex Jones, a member of
environmental factors
But there’s more: “One of our most surprising findings, which contradicts current understanding, cells continue to ‘detect’ magnetic fields when only a very small fragment of cryptochrome is present. “This shows that cells can detect magnetic fields in other ways, at least in a lab.”
“We identified another possible way (perceiving magnetic fields) by showing that an essential molecule found in all cells can have sufficiently high amounts of magnetic susceptibility even without cryptochromes. This molecule, FAD, is the light sensor. It normally binds to cryptochromes to support it. magnetosensitivityBradlaugh details.
The findings of this group of researchers are also a Groundbreaking in understanding how environmental factors such as magnetic noise from telecommunications affect animals They rely on their magnetic senses to survive.
The effects of the magnetic field on FAD in the absence of cryptochrome are also evolutionary origins of magnetoreception“It seems likely that the cryptochrome evolved to exploit magnetic field effects on this ubiquitous and biologically ancient metabolite,” the authors write.
Ezio Rosato, of the University of Leicester and co-author, said that the study’s “ultimate effects on humans of exposure to magnetic fields“.
Also, because FAD and other components of these ‘molecular machines’ are found in many cells, this new understanding could open doors.”New avenues of research on the use of magnetic fields to manipulate gene activation“. As an experimental tool it could be a ‘holy grail’ and possibly clinical useresearchers come to conclusions.
Reference report: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05735-z
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