Superparamagnetic Magnetite in the Upper Beak Tissue of Homing Pigeons
@article{Hanzlik2004SuperparamagneticMI, title={Superparamagnetic Magnetite in the Upper Beak Tissue of Homing Pigeons}, author={Marianne Hanzlik and Ch Heunemann and Elke Holtkamp-R{\"o}tzler and Michael Winklhofer and Nikolai P. Petersen and Gerta Fleissner}, journal={Biometals}, year={2004}, volume={13}, pages={325-331} }
Homing pigeons have been subject of various studies trying to detect magnetic material which might be involved in magnetic field perception. Here we focus on the upper-beak skin of homing pigeons, a region that has previously been shown to contain nerves sensitive to changes of the ambient magnetic field. We localized Fe3+ concentrations in the subcutis and identified the material by transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) as aggregates of magnetite nanocrystals (with grain sizes between 1 and 5…
123 Citations
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The results indicate that magnetite clusters, constituted by superparamagnetic nanoparticles and observed in a pigeon’s upper beak, may not be a component of a measuring system providing the magnetic map.
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The subcellular organization of afferent trigeminal terminals in the upper beak of the homing pigeon, Columba livia, which are about 5 μm in diameter and contain superparamagnetic magnetite (SPM) crystals was investigated.
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- BiologyNature
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It is shown that clusters of iron-rich cells in the rostro-medial upper beak of the pigeon Columbia livia are macrophages, not magnetosensitive neurons, which necessitates a renewed search for the true magnetite-dependent magnetoreceptor in birds.
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- BiologyPhysical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
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The proposed receptor theoretically is studied and the criteria for which it becomes operational and can be used for registering the weak magnetic fields as, e.g., the geomagnetic field, by a bird is formulated.
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- BiologyPloS one
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The magnetic field sensors enabling birds to extract orientational information from the Earth's magnetic field have remained enigmatic. Our previously published results from homing pigeons have made…
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- Biology
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This study investigates the magnetic properties of ferritin and a variety of pigeon tissues using Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometry, and modelled the magneto-electric properties of an iron-rich organelle, the cuticulosome, implicated in the magnetic sense.
Magnetic pulse affects a putative magnetoreceptor mechanism.
- PhysicsBiophysical journal
- 2005
A physical model that accurately predicts the dynamics of interacting SP clusters in a magnetic field offers a novel mechanism for magnetic field perception and is in agreement with the response of birds observed after magnetic-pulse treatments.
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- BiologyNaturwissenschaften
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Animals make use of the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation and regulation of vegetative functions; however, the anatomical and physiological basis for the magnetic sense has not been elucidated…
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