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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Purification of the M. magneticum Strain AMB-1 Magnetosome Associated Protein MamAΔ41
Published on: March 25, 2010
Evolution and possible storage of information in a magnetite system of significance for brain development
Fredrik C Størmer1, Ivar Mysterud, Tore Slagsvold
1Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Nydalen N-0403, Oslo, Norway. fredrik.stormer@gmail.com
Abstract:
The initial evolutionary electromagnetic steps in the history of brain development are still unknown, although such knowledge might be of high relevance in understanding human degenerative diseases. All prokaryote organisms, one-celled or multicellular, must have an inherited system to process and store information activating instincts and reflexes, in order to give a quick response to external stimuli. We argue that magnetite is an obvious compound to be evaluated as an initial precursor from prebiotic Earth history in the evolution of such a system. Magnetite is a stable ferrimagnetic compound, present in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. It occurred naturally in the early Earth environment and was later synthesized de novo in biotic organisms. We suggest that the use of magnetite has evolved to represent the main storage system for learned memory in all organisms living today.
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