Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026
12:09
Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
Published on: March 19, 2014
24.1K
Blue light-dependent human magnetoreception in geomagnetic food orientation
Kwon-Seok Chae1,2,3, In-Taek Oh1, Sang-Hyup Lee1
1Department of Biology Education Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Plos One
|February 15, 2019
Summary
Humans can sense Earth's geomagnetic field (GMF) to find food, particularly men under blue light. This magnetic sense, influenced by hunger, suggests an inclination compass guides human orientation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biophysics
- Human Magnetoreception
Background:
- Earth's geomagnetic field (GMF) influences many organisms.
- Humans are generally considered insensitive to the GMF.
- Previous research suggests limited human magnetoreception capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether humans can sense the GMF for orientation.
- To determine the conditions and factors influencing human magnetic sense.
- To explore the potential mechanisms of human magnetoreception.
Main Methods:
- A self-rotatory chair experiment was conducted with starved male and female participants.
- Orientation towards food-associated directions under varying GMF and light conditions was measured.
- Blood glucose levels were monitored to assess the role of hunger.
Main Results:
- Starved men, but not women, oriented towards magnetic north/east when food-associated.
- Orientation occurred under blue light but not in darkness or under longer wavelengths (>500 nm).
- Reversing the GMF's vertical component led to south orientation; hunger motivated the magnetic sense.
Conclusions:
- Male humans possess a GMF sense, dependent on blue light.
- This magnetic sense appears to be an inclination compass.
- Hunger acts as a motivator for sensing GMF direction in humans.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Location and Orientation of the Heart
9.9K
The human heart, despite its modest size and weight, is an organ of remarkable strength and endurance. Roughly the size of a fist, the heart weighs between 250 and 350 grams and is nestled within the mediastinum, the medial cavity of the thorax. It extends obliquely for about 12 to 14 cm, resting on the superior surface of the diaphragm. The heart is positioned anterior to the vertebral column and posterior to the sternum, with two-thirds of its mass lying to the left of the midsternal line.
9.9K
02:55Temperature Dependence on Reaction Rate
88.9K
The Collision Theory
Atoms, molecules, or ions must collide before they can react with each other. Atoms must be close together to form chemical bonds. This premise is the basis for a theory that explains many observations regarding chemical kinetics, including factors affecting reaction rates.
The collision theory is based on the postulates that (i) the reaction rate is proportional to the rate of reactant collisions, (ii) the reacting species collide in an orientation allowing contact between...
Atoms, molecules, or ions must collide before they can react with each other. Atoms must be close together to form chemical bonds. This premise is the basis for a theory that explains many observations regarding chemical kinetics, including factors affecting reaction rates.
The collision theory is based on the postulates that (i) the reaction rate is proportional to the rate of reactant collisions, (ii) the reacting species collide in an orientation allowing contact between...
88.9K
01:35Light as Energy
95.9K
The energy required to carry out photosynthesis is light— typically electromagnetic radiation from the sun. The range of all possible wavelengths is known as the electromagnetic spectrum.
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit...
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit...
95.9K
02:16Light Acquisition
9.6K
In order to produce glucose, plants need to capture sufficient light energy. Many modern plants have evolved leaves specialized for light acquisition. Leaves can be only millimeters in width or tens of meters wide, depending on the environment. Due to competition for sunlight, evolution has driven the evolution of increasingly larger leaves and taller plants, to avoid shading by their neighbors with contaminant elaboration of root architecture and mechanisms to transport water and nutrients.
9.6K
02:12The Wave Nature of Light
61.2K
The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
61.2K
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
23.8K
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
23.8K