The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass
Migratory birds have a light-dependent magnetic compass, the mechanism of which is thought to involve radical pairs formed photochemically in cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Theoretical descriptions of this compass have thus far been unable to account for the high precision with which birds are...
| Główni autorzy: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Język: | English |
| Wydane: |
National Academy of Sciences
2016
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| _version_ | 1826257928285323264 |
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| author | Hiscock, H Worster, S Kattnig, DR Steers, C Jin, Y Manolopoulos, D Mouritsen, H Hore, P |
| author_facet | Hiscock, H Worster, S Kattnig, DR Steers, C Jin, Y Manolopoulos, D Mouritsen, H Hore, P |
| author_sort | Hiscock, H |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Migratory birds have a light-dependent magnetic compass, the mechanism of which is thought to involve radical pairs formed photochemically in cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Theoretical descriptions of this compass have thus far been unable to account for the high precision with which birds are able to detect the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Here we use coherent spin dynamics simulations to explore the behavior of realistic models of cryptochrome-based radical pairs. We show that when the spin coherence persists for longer than a few microseconds, the output of the sensor contains a sharp feature, referred to as a spike. The spike arises from avoided crossings of the quantum mechanical spin energy-levels of radicals formed in cryptochromes. Such a feature could deliver a heading precision sufficient to explain the navigational behavior of migratory birds in the wild. Our results (i) afford new insights into radical pair magnetoreception, (ii) suggest ways in which the performance of the compass could have been optimized by evolution, (iii) may provide the beginnings of an explanation for the magnetic disorientation of migratory birds exposed to anthropogenic electromagnetic noise, and (iv) suggest that radical pair magnetoreception may be more of a quantum biology phenomenon than previously realized. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:25:56Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:07f788e1-ff99-40bd-992f-cac61424f8de |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:25:56Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:07f788e1-ff99-40bd-992f-cac61424f8de2022-03-26T09:10:21ZThe quantum needle of the avian magnetic compassJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:07f788e1-ff99-40bd-992f-cac61424f8deEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordNational Academy of Sciences2016Hiscock, HWorster, SKattnig, DRSteers, CJin, YManolopoulos, DMouritsen, HHore, PMigratory birds have a light-dependent magnetic compass, the mechanism of which is thought to involve radical pairs formed photochemically in cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Theoretical descriptions of this compass have thus far been unable to account for the high precision with which birds are able to detect the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Here we use coherent spin dynamics simulations to explore the behavior of realistic models of cryptochrome-based radical pairs. We show that when the spin coherence persists for longer than a few microseconds, the output of the sensor contains a sharp feature, referred to as a spike. The spike arises from avoided crossings of the quantum mechanical spin energy-levels of radicals formed in cryptochromes. Such a feature could deliver a heading precision sufficient to explain the navigational behavior of migratory birds in the wild. Our results (i) afford new insights into radical pair magnetoreception, (ii) suggest ways in which the performance of the compass could have been optimized by evolution, (iii) may provide the beginnings of an explanation for the magnetic disorientation of migratory birds exposed to anthropogenic electromagnetic noise, and (iv) suggest that radical pair magnetoreception may be more of a quantum biology phenomenon than previously realized. |
| spellingShingle | Hiscock, H Worster, S Kattnig, DR Steers, C Jin, Y Manolopoulos, D Mouritsen, H Hore, P The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
| title | The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
| title_full | The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
| title_fullStr | The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
| title_full_unstemmed | The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
| title_short | The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
| title_sort | quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass |
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