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How birds detect Earth's magnetic field


DrmDoc

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Researchers at the prestigious Lund University in Sweden have determined that a cryptochrome (CRY4) in eyes of birds enables their perception of Earth's magnetic field (magnetoreception).  According the university's April 6th article:

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...researchers at Lund University have studied different proteins in the eyes of zebra finches and discovered that one of them differs from the others: only the Cry4 protein maintains a constant level throughout the day and in different lighting conditions.

I imagine adaptations to the human eye may soon arrive.  Enjoy! 

Edited by DrmDoc
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The conclusion have to be more careful.They found a candidate protein that, because of its expression pattern, might be involved in magnetoception. However, they have not determined whether it is really the case.

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