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Worm’s-eye view: Scientists find first-ever animal sensor detecting Earth's magnetic field

For a long time, scientists knew that some animals can detect the Earth’s magnetic field, but they could not explain how. Researchers finally managed to find the first animal magnetic sensor – in a tiny worm.

Many creatures – from bacteria to animals – navigate by feeling the magnetic field of the Earth. That is how homing pigeons can find their way home, despite being hundreds of miles away. Until today, however, scientists could not understand the exact mechanism.

A group of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have been observing worms called C. elegans in labs all over the world and concluded that these small animals have so-called magnetoception – a sense that allows them to detect a magnetic field. The next step was to find a receptor of this sense, which could be the key to solve one of the deepest mysteries in zoology.

czytaj: http://rt.com/news/268159-worms-earth-magnetic-field/