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Birds Can See Earth's Magnetic Fields, And Now We Know How That's Possible

posted by mrpg on Sunday September 02 2018, @01:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the so-cool dept.

chromas (from IRC) writes:

ScienceAlert:

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.

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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:04PM (1 child)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:04PM (#729682)

    Quick test is the word "jandal" a synonym for the Australian word "thong" or the American word "thong"?

    ooh, ooh, I know that one!

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Monday September 03 2018, @01:56AM

    by Absolutely.Geek (5328) on Monday September 03 2018, @01:56AM (#729723)

    Good to know that there are some knowledgeable people around.

    --
    Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.