Magnetoreception Regulates Male Courtship Activity in Drosophila.
Wu CL, Fu TF, Chiang MH, Chang YW, Her JL, Wu T. · 2016
View Original AbstractMagnetic fields as low as 20 Gauss altered fruit fly behavior through cryptochrome proteins also found in humans.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed male fruit flies to static magnetic fields as low as 20 Gauss (about 40 times Earth's natural magnetic field) and found it significantly increased their courtship behavior. The effect depended on cryptochrome, a protein that helps animals sense magnetic fields and is also found in humans. This study demonstrates that relatively weak magnetic fields can alter behavior through biological magnetic sensing mechanisms.
Why This Matters
This research provides compelling evidence that magnetic fields can influence biological behavior at surprisingly low exposure levels. Twenty Gauss is well within the range of magnetic fields you might encounter from common household devices like hair dryers (up to 2,000 Gauss at close range) or even some magnetic therapy products. What makes this study particularly significant is its identification of cryptochrome as the mechanism behind magnetic field detection. Cryptochrome proteins exist in many species, including humans, where they regulate circadian rhythms and may contribute to magnetic sensing. The reality is that if magnetic fields this weak can alter complex behaviors like courtship in fruit flies through well-established biological pathways, we need to take seriously the possibility that similar mechanisms could be operating in humans exposed to the magnetic fields from our increasingly electrified environment.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0 - ≥ 2 mG
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
we report that courtship activity of male Drosophila increases in a magnetic field and that this effect is regulated by the blue light-dependent photoreceptor cryptochrome (CRY).
Naïve male flies exhibited significantly increased courtship activities when they were exposed to a ...
Our results highlight the phenomenon of increased male courtship activity caused by a magnetic field through CRY-dependent magnetic sensation in CRY expression neurons in Drosophila.
Show BibTeX
@article{cl_2016_magnetoreception_regulates_male_courtship_731,
author = {Wu CL and Fu TF and Chiang MH and Chang YW and Her JL and Wu T.},
title = {Magnetoreception Regulates Male Courtship Activity in Drosophila.},
year = {2016},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155942},
}