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Sensory biology

Radio waves zap the biomagnetic compass

Nature volume 509, pages 296–297 (2014)Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 28 May 2014

This article has been updated

Weak radio waves in the medium-wave band are sufficient to disrupt geomagnetic orientation in migratory birds, according to a particularly well-controlled study. But the underlying biophysics remains a puzzle. See Letter p.353

Magnetobiology has largely been viewed as a stamping ground for charlatans since the followers of physician Franz Anton Mesmer failed to cure patients using a 'magnetized' tree in the eighteenth century. Numerous discoveries have begun to change that perspective, although the road has been rocky. For example, early studies suggesting that migrating animals use geomagnetic cues for navigation were plagued by variability, but it is now clear that many microorganisms and animals use a magnetic compass for part of their orientation1.

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Figure 1: Biological 'magnetomonsters'.

a, Marianne Hanzlik; b, Heinz A. Lowenstam/Joseph L. Kirschvink; c,d, Dirk Schumann

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  1. Joseph L. Kirschvink is in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA, and at the Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.,

    Joseph L. Kirschvink

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  1. Joseph L. Kirschvink
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Correspondence to Joseph L. Kirschvink.

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Kirschvink, J. Radio waves zap the biomagnetic compass. Nature 509, 296–297 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13334

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