nebula Posted September 26, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Birds May Be Able to 'See' Earth's Magnetic Field Wednesday, September 26, 2007 By Dave Mosher Birds can travel the world without any of the gizmos that humans depend on, and a new study suggests how: Our feathered friends might "see" Earth's magnetic field. While other mechanisms are thought to help birds navigate, including magnetically sensitive cells within their beaks, their brain regions responsible for vision are in full gear during magnetic navigation, researchers said. "If you look into the brain of a bird during magnetic compass orientation, only the visual system is highly active," said study co-author Henrik Mouritsen, a biologist at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, noting that most migratory birds do so at night. "Other regions of the brain are not, so birds could use vision to 'see' Earth's magnetism and orient themselves." Mouritsen and his colleagues' findings are detailed online in a recent issue of the journal PLoS ONE. Magnetic chemistry The researchers previously discovered molecules called cryptochromes, which change their chemistry in the presence of a magnetic field, in the retinas of migratory birds' eyes. "When light hits these molecules, their chemistry changes and magnetism can influence them," Mouritsen said. The molecules might then affect light-sensing cells in the retina to create images, which would help the brain navigate during flight, he added. A direct connection between the specialized cells and the region of the bird's brain active during magnetic orientation, however, had never been shown before. Mouritsen and his team recently found such connections between the cryptochrome-holding retinal cells and the "cluster N" region of migratory birds' brains, located in part of the brain responsible for vision. "Cluster N is highly active during magnetic field orientation at night, when migratory birds fly," he said, explaining that non-migratory birds don't seem to use it during night flight. "We can't see what birds see, obviously, but they may pick up some sort of shading in their vision at night to act as a compass." Read the rest here ----------------------------------------- I still have to wonder how people can believe random, undirected mutations could develop something so complicated and coordinated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artsylady Posted September 27, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 171 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 4,813 Content Per Day: 0.64 Reputation: 150 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/26/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted September 27, 2007 It's amazing the creativity and ingenuity that went into God's creatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraught Posted September 27, 2007 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 105 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,741 Content Per Day: 0.28 Reputation: 28 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/23/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/30/1959 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Very interesting. But they sometimes just follow the roads... that's pigeons (but still funny) EDIT: Turns out that this is old news it wasn't old news to me and you sometimes old news is the best news !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebmilc Posted October 14, 2007 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 15 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 204 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/29/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 03/07/1949 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Very interesting. But they sometimes just follow the roads... EDIT: Turns out that this is old news Could you tell me which roads they follow across the sea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.Laffin Posted October 14, 2007 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 6 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 36 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted October 14, 2007 Could humans do this too, I have this weird ability to always know where north is. I can close my eyes spin around a bunch of times and still point to north. This has always been true with one exception. I went to Chicago (Willow Creek Conference) and when I found out were north was I was way off, the whole trip, since I got off the plane I felt all mixed up locationally, and felt weird the whole time. Anyone know of an explanation for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted October 14, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 Well, the study on the birds focused on their eyesight, so that does not sound the same. But, could it be possible you have "wired" within you an ability to align yourself with the magnetic pole? I guess so, if you are doing it..... Don't know what it would be, but it is not unheard of for individuals to have heightened senses in some manner, shape or form. Rare, but not unheard of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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