Animals Can Detect Magnetic Fields and Scientists Might Finally Know Why and How

Current theories for magnetoreception have yet to be confirmed, which is why a group of scientists have come up with a new one.

Transcript

00:00it's no secret that many animals have more acute senses than humans even being

00:08able to detect magnetic fields with an ability called magnetoreception but now

00:12a new study suggests it might have less to do with an animal's innate ability

00:16and more with microbes living inside their bodies magnetotactic bacteria or

00:20MTB use magnetic structures to maneuver via magnetic field lines and through

00:24symbiosis wildlife genomist Robert Fittach and his co-authors hypothesized

00:29they form a symbiotic relationship with animals giving the creatures a minor

00:33superpower while the microbes get a nice place to live but there are problems

00:37with this hypothesis principally what's the pathway for magnetic detecting

00:41microbes to communicate with the animal they are not entirely sure but they're

00:44following evidence from a previous study that found that particular link

00:48between MTB and microscopic marine protists and the researchers say their

00:51current study has uncovered that MTB are far more common than previously thought

00:56going largely overlooked the team are now testing their hypothesis experimenting

01:00with whether birds lose their keen magnetic driven sense of direction after

01:04receiving antibiotics