Magnetic Navigation: Two Remarkable New Findings: Lasting Effects of RF Noise in Bats; Pigeons Use Their Livers!
The May 28 issue of Science features two important new papers on how birds and bats sense and interpret the Earth’s magnetic field —each with important implications for understanding low-level electromagnetic interactions.
The first, from researchers at Germany’s Oldenburg University, shows that low-level, ambient RF noise can disrupt the ability of bats to use magnetic fields for navigation hours after exposure. “These results suggest that the ever-present din of our devices may be having a bigger effect than was previously thought,” explains an editor at Science.
The second may be even more surprising. A German-Danish-Australian team is proposing a new mechanism to explain how pigeons navigate in the dark —they use macrophages in their liver. (Macrophages are a particular type of white blood cells.) It’s the magazine’s cover story this week.