Current theories for magnetoreception have yet to be confirmed, which is why a group of scientists have come up with a new one.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00 It's no secret that many animals have more acute senses than humans, even being able
00:08 to detect magnetic fields with an ability called magnetoreception.
00:12 But now a new study suggests it might have less to do with an animal's innate ability
00:16 and more with microbes living inside their bodies.
00:19 Magnetotactic bacteria, or MTB, use magnetic structures to maneuver via magnetic field
00:24 lines and through symbiosis, wildlife genomist Robert Fittak and his co-authors hypothesize
00:29 they form a symbiotic relationship with animals, giving the creatures a minor superpower while
00:34 the microbes get a nice place to live.
00:36 But there are problems with this hypothesis.
00:39 Principally, what's the pathway for magnetic detecting microbes to communicate with the
00:43 animal?
00:44 They're not entirely sure, but they're following evidence from a previous study that
00:46 found that particular link between MTB and microscopic marine protists, and the researchers
00:51 say their current study has uncovered that MTB are far more common than previously thought,
00:56 going largely overlooked.
00:57 The team are now testing their hypothesis, experimenting with whether birds lose their
01:01 keen magnetic-driven sense of direction after receiving antibiotics.
01:05 (upbeat music)
01:08 (upbeat music)