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The Radical-Pair Mechanism of Magnetoreception
Open accessAbstract
Although it has been known for almost half a century that migratory birds can detect the direction of the Earth's magnetic field, the primary sensory mechanism behind this remarkable feat is still unclear. The leading hypothesis centers on radical pairs—magnetically sensitive chemical intermediates formed by photoexcitation of cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Our primary aim here is to explain the chemical and physical aspects of the radical-pair mechanism to biologists and the biological and chemical aspects to physicists. In doing so, we review the current state of knowledge on magnetoreception mechanisms. We dare to hope that this tutorial will stimulate new interdisciplinary experimental and theoretical work that will shed much-needed additional light on this fascinating problem in sensory biology.
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“Magnetic fields alter the coherent interconversion between singlet and triplet configurations, and because these spin states lead to different reaction outcomes, reaction yields are determined by spin coherence rather than reaction energetics [33,34,35].”
From The Heart’s Electromagnetic Field in Emotions, Empathy and Human Connection: Biosensor-Derived Insights into Heart–Brain Axis Mechanisms and a Basis for Novel BioMagnetoTherapies (2026) · cites this paper as [35]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“While RPM does not directly address the cardiac field or emotional processes, it provides an experimental and theoretical basis that renders the hypothesis regarding biologic systems’ sensitivity to such weak magnetic fields mechanistically plausible.”
From The Heart’s Electromagnetic Field in Emotions, Empathy and Human Connection: Biosensor-Derived Insights into Heart–Brain Axis Mechanisms and a Basis for Novel BioMagnetoTherapies (2026) · cites this paper as [35]
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“Although its nanotesla-scale strength (0.1–1 nT) poses a significant limitation for conventional biological interpretation, stochastic resonance and the radical pair mechanism offer plausible theoretical frameworks through which weak magnetic fields could exert measurable effects under specific conditions [35,36,37,38,39].”
From The Heart’s Electromagnetic Field in Emotions, Empathy and Human Connection: Biosensor-Derived Insights into Heart–Brain Axis Mechanisms and a Basis for Novel BioMagnetoTherapies (2026) · cites this paper as [35]
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“The Radical Pair Mechanism (RPM) proposes that magnetic fields can influence chemical reactions by modulating the quantum spin dynamics of transient radical pairs.”
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Redox-State-Dependent Structural Changes within a Prokaryotic 6–4 Photolyase
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Proposal to use superparamagnetic nanoparticles to test the role of cryptochrome in magnetoreception
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Self-citationCan Quantum Theory Concepts Shed Light on Biological Evolution Processes?
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Bionic Magnetic Compass Algorithm Based on Radical Pair Theory
Li, Z., Yu, H., Shen, T., Li, Y., & Zhang, W. (2022) · IEEE Sensors Journal · doi:10.1109/jsen.2022.3220697 · Cited by 4
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Theoretical examination of nuclear spin diffusion in light-induced spin coherences in photosystem I
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“Second, cells are capable of synthesizing magnetite particles that can align themselves with the geomagnetic field [38] due to the way that human cells regulate themselves and the influence of magnetite on magneto-sensitive proteins [39], as well as the effects of bio-mineralization and magnetoreception in the body [1…”
BackgroundExposure to static magnetic field facilitates selective attention and neuroplasticity in rats
Wang, T., Yasin, N., Zubedat, S., Loboda, Y., Avital, A., Schächter, L., & Finberg, J. P. M. (2022) · Brain Research Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.08.016 · Cited by 4
The rotating magnetocaloric effect as a potential mechanism for natural magnetic senses
Bell, A. M., & Robinson, J. T. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222401 · Cited by 4
Essential elements of radical pair magnetosensitivity in DrosophilaPreprint
Bradlaugh, A. A., Fedele, G., Munro, A. L., Hansen, C. N., Patel, S., Kyriacou, C. P., Jones, A. R., Rosato, E., & Baines, R. (2021) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2021.10.29.466426 · Cited by 4
Hore, P. J. (2021) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abm9261 · Cited by 4
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InfluentialSpin Relaxation Does Not Preclude Magnetic Field Effects on Lipid Autoxidation
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“Based on the description 1 of the radical-pair mechanism of the magnetoreception, we consider the singlet-born flavin-tryptophan radical pair and, as in the previous study 24 , focus on sensitivity of the singlet-triplet interconversion, i.e., of the core part of the mechanism, to the direction of…”
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“142,143 It is commonly expressed in eukaryotes and contains α ‐ helix domains that can interact with fl avin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), 144 which contributes to its unique physiological function.”
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Circadian system coordination: new perspectives beyond classical models
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Magnetic Biological Effect: Quantum Constraints
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InfluentialEffect of Increased Ionizing Radiation and Near-Null Magnetic Field on Electrical Signals of Plants
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“…the radical pair mechanism raises the notion that the lifespan of spin state for unpaired electrons in the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in cryptochrome, a putative magnetoreceptor protein, could be changed by geomagnetic field (GMF; 35–65 µT; Ritz et al., 2000; Hore and Mouritsen, 2016).”
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Self-citationMagnetic Field Parameters and Biological Sample Differences That Lead to Differential Bioeffects
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Binhi, V. N. (2023) · Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology · doi:10.1007/s11055-023-01497-3 · Cited by 3
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“The most promising theory, the ‘radical-pair’ theory, hypothesizes the involvement of light and quantum physics in the process (Hore and Mouritsen 2016).”
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Sessler, J. L. (2024) · National Science Review · doi:10.1093/nsr/nwae145 · Cited by 3
Possibility of two-dimensional ordering of cryptochrome 4a from European robin
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“…reactions involving electron transfer and interactions of radicals are influenced by Earth-strength magnetic fields and might enable animalsto detect directional (e.g. magnetic compass) information (Schulten et al., 1978; Rodgers and Hore, 2009; Ritz et al., 2009; Hore and Mouritsen, 2016).”
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“It has been suggested that the avian compass mechanism relies on magneto-sensitive radical pairs formed by photo-induced intramolecular electron transfer reactions in an array of aligned photoreceptors located in the retina [16,30].”
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“Yet another application of quantum biology involves magnetoreception, in which animals can navigate using the inclination of the Earth’s magnetic field [7].”
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Short-term antibiotics, induced magnetic field, and magnetic sensitivity in a migratory songbirdPreprint
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“In light of the above, the magnetic sense remains the only sense without a known sensor; while various hypotheses have been proposed regarding the underlying mechanism (Hore & Mouritsen, 2016; Kirschvink et al., 2001; Natan & Vortman, 2017; Nordmann et al., 2017) all currently remain hypotheses.”
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Self-citationA magnetotactic bacterium capable of magnetic sensing
Gachon, E., Lambert, S., Grosse, S., Turrini, E. C. A., Ropion, E., Klumpp, S., Lefèvre, C. T., Kojadinovic-Sirinelli, M., & Faivre, D. (2025) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.113377 · Cited by 2
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Interradical motion can push magnetosensing precision toward quantum limits
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6-4 photolyase differentially modulates transcription in the vertebrate circadian clock
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“Furthermore, while birds, reptiles and amphibia possess multiple cryptochromes that do not serve as repressors of Clock and Bmal [54–56], these additional cryptochromes are also not encountered in the mammalian lineage.”
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“The photochemistry of cryptochromes aligns well with the requirements of a light-dependent primary magnetic sensor, as these proteins bind flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) to absorb blue light [5].”
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“CRYs have also been implicated in magnetoreception across various species (insects, birds, plants), but this role remains highly controversial [28,105,106].”
Introduction to modeling radical pair quantum spin dynamics with tensor networks
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Optically addressable molecular spin qubits
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An open-source three-dimensional digital brain atlas of a migratory bird, the Eurasian blackcap
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“RF exposure at specific frequencies may interact with hyperfine couplings within radical pairs, affecting ROS production, as explained in the context of magnetic field effects on biological systems [39].”
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Recent Studies on the Effects of Static Magnetic Fields (SMF) on Reproductive Function
Zhang, C., Dong, C., Liu, X., Zhang, J., Li, Q., Chen, S., Zhao, H., & Huang, D. (2025) · Current Issues in Molecular Biology · doi:10.3390/cimb47020116 · Cited by 2
“The possible mechanism involves free radicals—magnetically sensitive chemical intermediates formed by the light excitation of cryptochrome proteins in the retina [27].”
Entanglement and coherence in pure and doped Posner molecules
Adams, B., Sinayskiy, I., Agarwal, S., & Petruccione, F. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-96487-5 · Cited by 7
The Quantum Homunculus in Biology: How DNA and Biomolecules Bridge the Classical and Quantum Realms
Ebrahimi, M. (2025) · doi:10.38124/ijisrt/25apr2073 · Cited by 2
Radical pair mechanism in magnetobiology: state of the art
Binhi, V. N. (2025) · Physics-Uspekhi · doi:10.3367/ufne.2025.09.040032 · Cited by 2
Lee, K. S., Dumke, R., & Paterek, T. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91815-x · Cited by 2
The retinal circuitry for magnetoreception in migratory birds
Seth, P. K., Balaji, V., & Dedek, K. (2021) · e-Neuroforum · doi:10.1515/nf-2021-0007 · Cited by 2
Konowalczyk, M., Elst, O. F. V., & Storey, J. G. (2020) · Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics · doi:10.1039/d0cp04814c · Cited by 2
Glycocalyx transduces membrane leak in brain tumor cells exposed to sharp magnetic pulsing
Johns, S. C., Gupta, P., Lee, Y.-H., Friend, J. R., & Fuster, M. M. (2023) · Biophysical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2023.10.020 · Cited by 2
“One interesting convention that may implicate the possibility of ‘‘active’’ magnetosen-sitive radical pairs in the system is the use of a second time-dependent magnetic field to modify or possibly even counter the effects of the original experimental field of interest (54).”
Magnetic Compass Orientation in a Palaearctic–Indian Night Migrant, the Red-Headed Bunting
Tyagi, T., & Bhardwaj, S. K. (2021) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani11061541 · Cited by 2
Крылов, В. В. (2021) · Clocks & Sleep · doi:10.3390/clockssleep3040045 · Cited by 2
“On the one hand, cryptochromes are suggested to be responsible for the biological effects of geomagnetic storms [24] and magnetic-compass orientation in living beings [30].”
BackgroundExperimental evidence of non-classical brain functionsPreprint
Kerskens, C., & Pérez, D. L. (2017) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/219931 · Cited by 2
Orientation and Navigation in the Animal World
Durieux, G., & Liedvogel, M. (2020) · Position, Navigation, and Timing Technologies in the 21st Century · doi:10.1002/9781119458555.ch54 · Cited by 3
Swimming direction of the glass catfish is responsive to magnetic stimulationPreprint
Hunt, R. D., Ashbaugh, R. C., Reimers, M. A., Удпа, Л., de Jimenez, G. S., Moore, M., Gilad, A. A., & Pelled, G. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.08.13.250035 · Cited by 2
Unexpectedly super strong paramagnetism of aromatic peptides due to cations of divalent metalsPreprint
Yang, H., Mu, L., Zhang, L., Wang, Z., Sheng, S., Song, Y., Xiu, P., Wang, J., Shi, G., Hu, J. M., et al. (2020) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2011.12797 · Cited by 2
Using Architectural Modeling for Integration Testing.
Reza, H., & Grant, E. S. (2005) · Software Engineering Research and Practice · Cited by 2
No evidence for detectable direct effects of magnetic field on cellular autofluorescencePreprint
Uzhytchak, M., Smolková, B., Frtús, A., Stupakov, A., Lunová, M., Scollo, F., Hof, M., Jurkiewicz, P., Sullivan, G. J., Dejneka, A., et al. (2022) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2022.05.15.491784 · Cited by 2
“One tentative hypothesis explaining biological effects of magnetic fields is alteration of biochemical reactions via so-called radical pair (RP) mechanism (RPM) [3, 26, 27].”
Romanova, N., Utvenko, G., Prokshina, A., Cellarius, F., Fedorishcheva, A., & Pakhomov, A. Y. (2023) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2023.01.13.523666 · Cited by 2
“animal’s body and the only known vertebrate photopigments that can form long-lived, spin80 correlated radical pairs upon light absorption [5,6].”
BackgroundProteins as nanomagnets and magnetoreceptors
Hore, P. J. (2024) · 动物学研究 · doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2024.175 · Cited by 2
Self-citationMagnetic Activation Of Electrically Active CellsPreprint
Duret, G., Coffler, S., Avants, B. W., Kim, W., Peterchev, A. V., & Robinson, J. T. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.02.07.636926 · Cited by 2
Fast-Track Signaling: A Non-Adiabatic Photoactivation Pathway in Plant Cryptochromes
Kornblueh, J. M., & Solov’yov, I. A. (2025) · ACS Central Science · doi:10.1021/acscentsci.5c01100 · Cited by 2
Ma, Y., Wan, G., Ji, Y., Chen, H., Gao, B., Yu, D., Warrant, E. J., Wu, Y., Chapman, J. W., & Hu, G. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.109098 · Cited by 2
Ross, B. L., Lodesani, A., & Aiello, C. D. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.02.18.706690 · Cited by 2
Non-equilibrium vibrational dynamics govern ultrafast electron transfer in avian cryptochromePreprint
Hungerland, J., Timmer, D., Frederiksen, A., Lünemann, D. C., Thöle, D., Saberamoli, G., Schmidt, J., Kumar, K., Bartölke, R., Sio, A. D., et al. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.05.25.727693 · Cited by 2
“The radical pair created by the ET is the central sensory system as the spin-dynamics of the radical pair are modulated by the magnetic field [10, 21].”
Self-citationPalantzas, A., & Anagnostouli, M. (2026) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s26051738 · Cited by 1
“Magnetic fields alter the coherent interconversion between singlet and triplet configurations, and because these spin states lead to different reaction outcomes, reaction yields are determined by spin coherence rather than reaction energetics [33–35].”
InfluentialQuantum Toolbox for Neurobiology Sensory Systems
Chiofalo, M. (2025) · Journal of Physics Conference Series · doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2948/1/012015 · Cited by 2
Magnetic sense-dependent probabilistic decision-making in humans
Oh, I., Kim, S., Kim, Y., Kim, Y., & Chae, K. S. (2025) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2025.1497021 · Cited by 1
“890 MHz, RF 2) (37, 40), indicating that a magnetic field resonance mechanism mediated the GMF-modulated decision-making (Fig.”
AAV-mediated transduction of songbird retina
Seth, P. K., Heyers, D., Satish, B., Mendoza, E., Haase, K., Borowsky, L., Musielak, I., Koch, K., Feederle, R., Scharff, C., et al. (2025) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2025.1549585 · Cited by 1
Self-citationBioinspired weak magnetic vector sensor for analysis and measurement of geomagnetic field parameters
Shi, H., Tang, R., Wang, Q., & Song, T. (2025) · Measurement · doi:10.1016/j.measurement.2025.117563 · Cited by 1
Quantum mechanics in biology and its application to cancer research: An overview
Wilson, D. W., Buttar, H. S., & Tuli, H. S. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-22300-6.00003-6 · Cited by 1
Saltonstall, R. (2025) · Ecopsychology · doi:10.1177/19429347251389959 · Cited by 1
Phylogeny of Core Molecular Components of Metazoan Circadian Clocks
Waldridge, O. M., Eskut, K. I., Smith, J. J., & Cassone, V. M. (2025) · Journal of Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1177/07487304251390623 · Cited by 1
“The vCrys act as transcriptional repressors and, despite the name, have been found in invertebrate species such as butterflies, mosquitos, honeybees, and ants (Bailey et al., 2002; Gegear et al., 2010; Hore and Mouritsen, 2016; Michael et al., 2017; Watari et al., 2012).”
Xu, J., Sjulstok, E., Berthias, F., Schmidt, J., Mouritsen, H., Jensen, O. N., & Solov’yov, I. A. (2026) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.5c03833 · Cited by 1
“1 − 7 The diverse biological functions are often associated with the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) cofactor that can be noncovalently bound by some Cry proteins.”
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Hore, P. J., & Mouritsen, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Mouritsen, Henrik
- Venue
- Annual Review of Biophysics
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2016-07-05
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 299-344
- ISSN
- 1936-122X (ISSN-L)
- 1936-1238
- OpenAlex
- W2342982958
- Cited by
- 813
- References
- 222
- Citations by year
- 2026: 119 · 2025: 96 · 2024: 83 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 80 · 2021: 100 · 2020: 72 · 2019: 64 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 13
- FWCI
- 6.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Annual Review of Biophysics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- EMF Biological Research Trust
- European Commission (FP7/2007–2013/ERC, 2007–2013, FP7 2007-2013, FP7/2007)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (GRK1885, FP7/2007–2013)
- Volkswagen Foundation
- U.S. Air Force (FA9550)
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L011972/1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Electromagnetic Fields and Biological Effects
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Spectroscopy › Electron Spin Resonance Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
- Keywords
- magnetoreception, radical pairs, cryptochrome, bird migration, magnetic field sensing, photoexcitation, radical pair mechanism, sensory biology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Birds, Free Radicals, Retina, Space Perception, Animal Migration, Cryptochromes, Magnetic Fields
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