Magnetoreception

Magnetoreception is the ability of certain organisms to detect magnetic fields in order to get a sense of direction or location. Many animals have shown the ability to use the Earth's magnetic field to orient themselves and gain information about their surroundings. These include salmon, sea turtles, lobsters, fruit flies, and most notably birds which use this sensory function to migrate.

Background

The basis of magnetoreception comes from the Earth's magnetic field, which presents itself as a large dipole with a magnetic north and a magnetic south. Because of its polarized nature, magnetic fields radiate outwards from the earth in a looping pattern. These magnetic "fields lines" are what organisms use to orient themselves. [[image:http://www.the-scientist.com/images/August2013/Globe400x357_1.jpg

]] Although the existence of magnetoreception was plagued by suspicion for many years, a clear example of an organism making use of the Earth's magnetic fields is found in the bacterium Magnetobacterium bavaricum. After investigation, the bacterium was found to have magnetite crystals inside its cells, which all polarize in the direction of present magnetic fields, forming a chain. This gives the bacterium magnetic characteristics and allows the cell to consistently travel along these magnetic field lines.

http://www.the-scientist.com/images/August2013/feature_pic13.jpg

A Mathematical Model

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A Computational Model

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