Quantum compass might help birds 'see' magnetic fields
Nature Podcast
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The Cryptochrome Hypothesis in Nature
cryptochromes are molecules that use light to generate radical pairs. The pair swings between these two states but a magnetic field tips the balance, making one or the other more likely. Since cryptochromes need light to work, they searched specifically in bird eyes. Team were also curious how cryptocrome proteins compared between birds that migrate and birds that don't. And it looks like the cryptochrome for from the migratory birds are significantly more magnetically sensitive than the same molecule from a chicken.
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