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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
Photoreceptor-based magnetoreception: optimal design of receptor molecules, cells, and neuronal processing
Thorsten Ritz1, Margaret Ahmad, Henrik Mouritsen
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. tritz@uci.edu
Abstract:
The sensory basis of magnetoreception in animals still remains a mystery. One hypothesis of magnetoreception is that photochemical radical pair reactions can transduce magnetic information in specialized photoreceptor cells, possibly involving the photoreceptor molecule cryptochrome. This hypothesis triggered a considerable amount of research in the past decade. Here, we present an updated picture of the radical-pair photoreceptor hypothesis. In our review, we will focus on insights that can assist biologists in their search for the elusive magnetoreceptors.
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