Birds Actually Appeared to Have a Mysterious ‘Quantum Sense’

It would be a very scary experience to see our world through the eyes of a migratory bird. One feature with their visual systems allows birds to ‘see’ our planet’s magnetic field. This clever feature that enables them to use quantum physics and biochemistry helps them navigate vast distances.

For the first time, scientists from the University of Tokyo have directly observed the assumption that birds and many other creatures have a fundamental reaction behind their ability to perceive the orientation of the planet’s poles.

This is important evidence that quantum physics directly affects the biochemical reaction in a cell. This is also something we have long assumed but haven’t actually seen before.

The team used a special microscope that is sensitive to weak flashes of light, and with it, they monitored a culture of human cells containing a special photosensitive material that responds dynamically to changes in the magnetic field.

‘What if a strange quantum effect is responsible for this enlightening reaction?’ This change matched what the researchers had hoped for and observed in the lab.

“We didn’t make any changes or additions to these cells,” says biophysicist Jonathan Woodward.

“We think we have extremely strong evidence that we are observing a purely quantum mechanical process affecting chemical activity at the cellular level.” said.

So how can cells, especially human cells, react to magnetic fields?

While there are several hypotheses, many researchers think this ability is due to a unique quantum reaction involving photoreceptors called cryptochromes.

Cryptochromes are found in cells of many species and are involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms. In migratory bird species, dogs, and other species, they are linked to the mysterious abilities to detect magnetic fields.

In fact, while most of us cannot see magnetic fields, our own cells certainly contain cryptochromes. And there is evidence that humans can actually detect Earth’s magnetism, even if they are not consciously aware of it.

To see the reaction within the cryptochromes in action, the researchers washed a culture of human cells containing cryptochromes in blue light, causing them to glow poorly. The team repeatedly passed magnetic fields of various frequencies over the cells as they glowed.

They found that every time the magnetic field passes over the cells, their fluorescence drops by around 3.5 percent. This is enough for a direct reaction.

So how can the magnetic field affect a photoreceptor?

It all depends on something called spin. This is an innate property of electrons.

We already know that spin is significantly affected by magnetic fields. Correctly arrange the electrons around an atom and gather enough of them together in one place, and the resulting mass of material can be moved without using more than a weak magnetic field. Just like the magnetic field surrounding our planet.

If you want to make a needle for a navigational compass, it is fine and sufficient to do what was just described. But since there were no obvious signs of magnetically sensitive pieces of material inside pigeon skulls, physicists had to think smaller.

In 1975, a researcher named Klaus Schulten developed a theory about how magnetic fields can affect chemical reactions.

The theory involved something called the radical couple.

A free radical is an electron that does not share with a second electron in the outer shell of an atom.

Sometimes these lone electrons can adopt a friend in another atom to biçim a radical pair. The two remain unpaired, but are considered intermingled thanks to a shared history, which means their spins will correspond eerily in quantum terms, no matter how far away.

Since this relationship cannot be explained by the ongoing physical connections, this is purely a quantum activity, something even Albert Einstein described as ‘spooky’.

In the hustle and bustle of a living cell, their entanglement will be temporary. But even these short-term associated turns must last long enough to make a subtle difference in the way their parent atoms behave.

In this experiment, as the magnetic field passes over the cells, the corresponding decrease in fluorescence indicates that the formation of radical pairs is affected.

An interesting result of the research may be how even weak magnetic fields can indirectly affect other biological processes. While evidence of magnetism affecting human health is poor, similar experiments like this one could be another avenue for research.

“The fun part of this research is seeing that the relationship between the spins of two separate electrons can have a huge impact on biology,” Woodward says.

Of course, birds are not the only animals that rely on our magnetosphere for direction. Fish species, worms, insects, and even some mammals have a knack. We humans can even be cognitively affected by the Earth’s weak magnetic field.

The evolution of this ability can offer a very different set of actions based on different physics.

Even at least one piece of evidence that the behavior of a living thing is linked to the strangeness of the quantum world. It is enough for us to wonder what other bits of biology emerge from the terrifying depths of basic physics.

This research PNAS’ta published.

Compiled by: Feyza ÇETİNKOL

Kaynak: science alert