Quantum compass might help birds 'see' magnetic fields
Nature Podcast
podcast@nature.com
4.5 • 893 Ratings
🗓️ 23 June 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Researchers isolate the protein thought to allow birds to sense magnetic fields, and astronomers pinpoint the stars that could view Earth as an exoplanet.
In this episode:
00:45 Homing in on the molecule that helps birds find their way.
How migratory birds sense magnetic fields is a long standing mystery in sensory biology. Now researchers have isolated a molecule, found within the eyes of these birds, which might act as a compass using quantum mechanics.
Research paper: Xu et al.
07:28 Research Highlights
How spending time on land boosts the brainpower of amphibious fish, and the neural pathway of sneezing has been revealed.
Research Highlight: Amphibious fish get smart — by working out on land
Research Highlight: How the brain makes us go ‘Achoo!’
09:52 Exoplanet Earth
Astronomers have catalogued almost 2,000 stars from which the Earth could be detected passing in front of the Sun. The team suggest that these stars would be good targets to search for planets that could harbour life.
Research Article: Kaltenegger & Faherty
18:46 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the unexpected science kicked up by the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, and how science is embracing the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Nature News: Mars helicopter kicks up ‘cool’ dust clouds — and unexpected science
Nature News: How scientists are embracing NFTs
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Here's the truth about AI. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. |
| 0:05.8 | ServiceNow puts AI to work for people across your business, removing friction and frustration |
| 0:11.2 | for your employees, supercharging productivity for your developers, providing intelligent |
| 0:16.5 | tools for your service agents to make customers happier, all built into a single platform |
| 0:21.5 | you can use right now. That's why the world works with ServiceNow. Visit ServiceNow.com |
| 0:27.8 | slash UK slash AI for people. This message comes from BetterHelp. Can you think of a time when you |
| 0:34.1 | didn't feel like you could be yourself, like you were hiding behind a mask. |
| 0:38.3 | BetterHelp online therapy is convenient, flexible and can help you learn to be your authentic self, |
| 0:44.3 | so you can stop hiding, because masks should be for Halloween fun, not for your emotions. |
| 0:50.6 | Take off the mask with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. |
| 0:57.2 | That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com. |
| 1:04.5 | Nature. |
| 1:07.1 | We don't know yet. |
| 1:08.8 | Why is it so far? |
| 1:10.6 | Like, it sounds so simple. |
| 1:11.9 | They had no idea. |
| 1:13.4 | But now the data's... |
| 1:14.6 | I find this not only refreshing, but at some level, astounding. |
| 1:22.3 | Nature. |
| 1:24.2 | Nature. |
| 1:26.2 | Welcome back to the Nature podcast. |
| 1:28.8 | This week, homing in on migratory birds' magnetic compass. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from podcast@nature.com, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of podcast@nature.com and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.