The mystery behind how birds navigate might finally be solved: it's not the iron in their beaks providing a magnetic compass, but a protein in their eyes that lets them "see" Earth's magnetic fields.
These findings come courtesy of two papers - one studying robins, the other zebra finches.
The fancy eye protein is called Cry4, and it's part of a class of proteins called cryptochromes - photoreceptors sensitive to blue light, found in both plants and animals. These proteins play a role in regulating circadian rhythms.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @03:46PM
I work at a data center. I hear people refer to our customers as retarded on a daily basis.
Also, I should mention that our customers really are retarded, that's why they need to call tech support.