Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

A model for photoreceptor-based magnetoreception in birds.

T Ritz¹, S Adem, K Schulten

¹Theoretical Biophysics Group, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 61801, USA.

Biophysical Journal

|February 2, 2000

Summary

Animals use Earth's magnetic field for navigation. This study proposes magnetoreception involves radical-pair chemical reactions, potentially explaining how birds use this magnetic compass sense.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

[Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma - Addendum 2020 - Guideline of the German Respiratory Society and the German Atemwegsliga in Cooperation with the Paediatric Respiratory Society and the Austrian Society of Pneumology].

Pneumologie (Stuttgart, Germany)·2021

Same author

Psychometric properties of an English short version of the Trier Inventory for chronic Stress.

BMC medical research methodology·2020

Same author

Cryptochrome mediated magnetic sensitivity in Arabidopsis occurs independently of light-induced electron transfer to the flavin.

Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology·2020

Same author

[Staging of liver fibrosis in biliary atresia : Comparison of Chevallier and Ishak score as well as automated evaluation].

Der Pathologe·2019

Same author

[Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma - Guideline of the German Respiratory Society and the German Atemwegsliga in Cooperation with the Paediatric Respiratory Society and the Austrian Society of Pneumology].

Pneumologie (Stuttgart, Germany)·2018

Same author

[Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma - Guideline of the German Respiratory Society and the German Atemwegsliga in Cooperation with the Paediatric Respiratory Society and the Austrian Society of Pneumology].

Pneumologie (Stuttgart, Germany)·2018

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Neuroethology
Quantum Biology

Background:

Many animals exhibit magnetoreception, using the geomagnetic field for directional guidance.
The precise biophysical mechanisms underlying magnetoreception remain largely unknown.
Understanding magnetoreception is crucial for explaining animal navigation and sensory biology.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the radical-pair mechanism as a potential biophysical basis for magnetoreception.
To theoretically model how geomagnetic fields influence radical-pair reactions and sensory output.
To explore the role of cryptochrome in the avian magnetic compass.

Main Methods:

Theoretical analysis of radical-pair reactions influenced by anisotropic hyperfine coupling.

Related Experiment Videos

Modeling of orientationally ordered radical pairs within a molecular substrate.

Evaluation of three-dimensional visual modulation patterns resulting from geomagnetic field interactions.

Main Results:

Geomagnetic field strengths can significantly alter radical-pair reaction yields based on alignment.
Proposed radical-pair systems can generate orientation-dependent visual modulation patterns.
These patterns correlate with observed characteristics of avian magnetic compass behavior.

Conclusions:

The radical-pair mechanism offers a plausible biophysical explanation for magnetoreception.
Cryptochrome is a potential candidate molecule involved in the magnetic sensory system.
Further experimental studies are needed to validate the proposed radical-pair mechanism and cryptochrome's role.