SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Birds Can See Earth's Magnetic Fields, And Now We Know How That's Possible
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 32 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Fascinating is a word I use for the unexpected.
-- Spock, "The Squire of Gothos", stardate 2124.5
(Score: 4, Insightful) by RamiK on Sunday September 02 2018, @06:53PM (2 children)
Have to agree. This political correctness drive to abolish certain words would leave us all speaking some neutered legalese English where we'll add "alleged" and "supposed" at every sentence just to avoid a profanity and slander charges soon enough. Retarded, idiot, moron, hysteric, imbecile, stupid, and cretin... Newspeak sucks balls.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/moron-idiot-imbecile-offensive-history [merriam-webster.com]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot [wikipedia.org]
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @07:21PM (1 child)
I really don't understand how people can be offended from learning that it was enshrined in government policy to try to keep their discussions about medical problems at a professional level.
Go ahead and call these people and kids retards; you don't owe them anything, and if you're lucky, no one will think badly of you for making fun of disabled people.
(Score: 4, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:09PM
It's not making fun of actual retards, it's making fun of the ones who only act like they're retarded.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.