Birds and bees can find their way using the
earth’s magnetic field. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could sense that field
too? Joe Kirschvink thinks we actually can.
Magnetic earth
The earth’s
magnetic field is actually quite a weird thing. We still haven’t explained it completely.
There are of course some theories. The most common theory is that the magnetic
field is caused by the movements of magma in the earth’s core. The magma can
conduct electricity, and it moves around in the core, so it creates something
like a dynamo effect. It’s much like the dynamo that you use on your bicycle to
power your lights. This big earth-dynamo creates a magnetic field, instead of an
electric current, like the dynamo on your bicycle. This magnetic field is the
reason that a compass points north and birds and bees can find their way. But Joe
Kirschvink thinks humans are also able to sense the magnetic field, and not
just with a compass.
Where is it?
The sensing
of magnetic fields used to be something that was put away with telepathy and
dowsing. Research about it is nowadays taken more seriously, after it was
discovered that many animals have this sixth sense. It isn’t a sense that is
located in once specific spot in the body of an animal, like a nose, or eyes,
however. The sense is based on a magnetic protein, cryptochrome, that can be
found anywhere in the body. It can even be located in a different place in the
body for every species. This also makes it quite difficult to find the protein
in humans, since we’ve literally no idea where it could be. ‘The receptors
could be in your left toe,’ Kirschvink jokes in Science.
It’s there! - Maybe
If we can
find the protein in humans, we could learn a whole lot more about how our
brains processes information. And also about how the magnetic sense works in
animals. But this magnetic sense could also explain some human behaviour. Like magnetic
sensing in turtles can explain the patterns in which the turtles swim. It is
unlikely however that you can actually consciously use your ‘new’ sense. The earth's magnetic field gets distorted by electromagnetic waves that are transmitted by
phones, computers and other things so they’re basically everywhere nowadays.
Nevertheless, Joe Kirschvink is determined to find the magnetic sense in
people. “It’s part of our evolutionary history. Magnetoreception may be the
primal sense.” he said in Science.
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