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Physiology

Mutant flies lack magnetic sense

It seems that fruitflies can detect magnetic fields, but only if they are illuminated with blue light. Mutant flies reveal that a light-responsive receptor underpins this peculiar behaviour.

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Figure 1: Magnetoreception in fruitflies.

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Rouyer, F. Mutant flies lack magnetic sense. Nature 454, 950–951 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454949a

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