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Cited by 544

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Chemical magnetoreception in birds: The radical pair mechanism

Open access
Rodgers, Christopher T., Hore, P. J.·2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Migratory birds travel vast distances each year, finding their way by various means, including a remarkable ability to perceive the Earth's magnetic field. Although it has been known for 40 years that birds possess a magnetic compass, avian magnetoreception is poorly understood at all levels from the primary biophysical detection events, signal transduction pathways and neurophysiology, to the processing of information in the brain. It has been proposed that the primary detector is a specialized ocular photoreceptor that plays host to magnetically sensitive photochemical reactions having radical pairs as fleeting intermediates. Here, we present a physical chemist's perspective on the “radical pair mechanism” of compass magnetoreception in birds. We outline the essential chemical requirements for detecting the direction of an Earth-strength ≈50 μT magnetic field and comment on the likelihood that these might be satisfied in a biologically plausible receptor. Our survey concludes with a discussion of cryptochrome, the photoactive protein that has been put forward as the magnetoreceptor molecule.

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Metadata

Authors
Rodgers, C. T., & Hore, P. J.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2009-01-13
Volume
106
Issue
2
Pages
353-360
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2024795845
Cited by
544
References
8
FWCI
20.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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Rodgers, C. T., & Hore, P. J. (2009). Chemical magnetoreception in birds: The radical pair mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0711968106

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