The rotating magnetocaloric effect as a potential mechanism for natural magnetic senses.

A Martin Bell,Jacob T Robinson,P Davide Cozzoli

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222401

A Martin Bell, Jacob T Robinson + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222401

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Oct 1, 2019
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine

Abstract

Many animals are able to sense the earth’s magnetic field, including varieties of arthropods and members of all major vertebrate groups. While the existence of this magnetic sense is widely accepted, the mechanism of action remains unknown. Building from recent work on synthetic magnetoreceptors, we propose a new model for natural magnetosensation based on the rotating magnetocaloric effect (RME), which predicts that heat generated by magnetic nanoparticles may allow animals to detect features of the earth’s magnetic field. Using this model, we identify the conditions for the RME to produce physiological signals in response to the earth’s magnetic field and suggest experiments to distinguish between candidate mechanisms of magnetoreception.

Highlights

Despite broad scientific consensus that many animals navigate or orient using the earth’s magnetic field, there is no widely accepted biophysical mechanism for magnetoreception [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Configurations for a magnetoreceptor based on the rotating magnetocaloric effect The magnetocaloric effect describes the release or absorption of thermal energy resulting from changes in magnetization
We have explored how the magnetocaloric model of magnetosensation might give rise to a magnetic sense in nature, and identified candidate biogenic nanoparticles

Summary

Introduction

Despite broad scientific consensus that many animals navigate or orient using the earth’s magnetic field, there is no widely accepted biophysical mechanism for magnetoreception [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Experimental and observational evidence suggests that certain animals can detect three properties of the local magnetic field vector: a polarity or compass sense can detect the polarity of the local field, a direction/inclination sense detects field line direction but gives no polarity information, and a ‘map’ sense detects the intensity of the local field [1]. Any of these modalities (or their combination) could potentially give rise to the migratory and orientation behavior observed in animals.

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