Researchers identify genes that help trout find their way home
Duke University
The coil was connected to a capacitor, which discharged an electric current to create a split-second magnetic pulse inside the coil, about 10 times weaker than the magnetic field generated by an MRI machine in a hospital. Notably, the brains of treated fish showed increased expression of genes involved in making ferritin, a protein that stores and transports iron inside cells. The results suggest that the detection system is based on iron that may be connected with or inside the eyes, Johnsen said. Other studies have even found minuscule amounts of magnetite in the human brain, but recent research suggests most of it comes from air pollution rather than occurring naturally, and it’s unclear whether they give humans a subconscious magnetic sense. Scientists don’t know what proteins might be involved in magnetite-based magnetoreception, but now we have some candidate genes to work with, Fitak said.