W hen I was growing up, I used to notice groups of birds with long, slender necks flying in a perfect V-formation high in the sky. These birds were especially noticeable during th ...

Many animals are known to navigate by sensing the Earth’s magnetic field, including bacteria, birds, bats, eels and whales. Some observations suggests that even dogs and cows sense the Earth's ...

Behavioural experiments have shown that diverse animals can detect the Earth's magnetic field and use it as a cue for guiding movements over both long and short distances. However, whereas receptors ...

Migratory birds use a magnetic compass in their eye for navigation. The involved sensory mechanisms have long remained elusive, but now, researchers have revealed exactly where in the eye avian ...

Magnetoreception—the ability to detect the Earth’s magnetic field—has evolved across diverse taxa, from migratory birds and sea turtles to insects and bacteria. Two principal biophysical models ...

The secrets behind magnetoreception—that is, the ability of some animals to sense Earth's magnetic field—are beginning to gradually unravel, thanks in part to a new study that demonstrates magnetic ...

A significant research grant from the Wellcome Trust will allow a team of researchers to identify the biological mechanisms through which magnetic forces affect animals, including humans. Scientists ...

A study using fruit flies, led by researchers at The Universities of Manchester and Leicester, supported by the National Physical Laboratory, has suggested that the animal world’s ability to sense a ...

The perception of the Earth’s magnetic field is used by many animal species for orientation and navigation. A magnetic sense is found in some insects, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, whereas humans ...

Magnetoreception enables animals to sense magnetic fields, which helps them navigate and orient themselves through the perception of location, direction or altitude. It’s been established that a ...

Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about ...