A hybrid compass mechanism combining radical pairs and magnetite crystals.
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| Title: | A hybrid compass mechanism combining radical pairs and magnetite crystals. |
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| Authors: | Hore, P. J.1 peter.hore@chem.ox.ac.uk |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2/24/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 8, p1-7. 19p. |
| Subjects: | Magnetite crystals, Magnetoreception, Magnetic sensors, Detectors, Geminate pairs (Molecules), Cryptochromes, Geomagnetism, Migratory birds |
| Abstract: | That night-migratory songbirds have a magnetic compass sense is undisputed. The nature of the sensor, however, is far from certain. The two leading hypotheses are organic radical pairs in cryptochrome flavoproteins and crystals of inorganic magnetic minerals such as magnetite. Here, we propose a magnetoreception mechanism that combines radical pair chemistry with magnetite nanoparticles. Instead of directly detecting the tiny dependence of a radical pair reaction on the direction of the Earth's (~50 μT) magnetic field, this hybrid sensor uses a magnetic particle to amplify the Earth's field. Directional information is thereby encoded in the response of nearby radical pairs to the intensity of a much stronger (~5 mT) magnetic field. The result is a magnetoreceptor with potentially 10 to 100-fold greater sensitivity than afforded by radical pairs alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 191909545 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: A hybrid compass mechanism combining radical pairs and magnetite crystals. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hore%2C+P%2E+J%2E%22">Hore, P. J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> peter.hore@chem.ox.ac.uk</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 2/24/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 8, p1-7. 19p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetite+crystals%22">Magnetite crystals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetoreception%22">Magnetoreception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetic+sensors%22">Magnetic sensors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Detectors%22">Detectors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geminate+pairs+%28Molecules%29%22">Geminate pairs (Molecules)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cryptochromes%22">Cryptochromes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geomagnetism%22">Geomagnetism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Migratory+birds%22">Migratory birds</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: That night-migratory songbirds have a magnetic compass sense is undisputed. The nature of the sensor, however, is far from certain. The two leading hypotheses are organic radical pairs in cryptochrome flavoproteins and crystals of inorganic magnetic minerals such as magnetite. Here, we propose a magnetoreception mechanism that combines radical pair chemistry with magnetite nanoparticles. Instead of directly detecting the tiny dependence of a radical pair reaction on the direction of the Earth's (~50 μT) magnetic field, this hybrid sensor uses a magnetic particle to amplify the Earth's field. Directional information is thereby encoded in the response of nearby radical pairs to the intensity of a much stronger (~5 mT) magnetic field. The result is a magnetoreceptor with potentially 10 to 100-fold greater sensitivity than afforded by radical pairs alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.2524093123 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 19 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Magnetite crystals Type: general – SubjectFull: Magnetoreception Type: general – SubjectFull: Magnetic sensors Type: general – SubjectFull: Detectors Type: general – SubjectFull: Geminate pairs (Molecules) Type: general – SubjectFull: Cryptochromes Type: general – SubjectFull: Geomagnetism Type: general – SubjectFull: Migratory birds Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: A hybrid compass mechanism combining radical pairs and magnetite crystals. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hore, P. J. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 24 M: 02 Text: 2/24/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 123 – Type: issue Value: 8 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
