Humans
Last week, researchers from the California Institute of Technology announced that they believe humans have the ability to pick up on the Earth’s magnetic field – a power known as magnetoreception. In an experiment, participants’ brains were described as “freaking out” when the magnetic field was changed unexpectedly.
Dogs
![a happy labradoodle](https://usercontent.one/wp/www.newsgroove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-five-magnetoreceptive-animals.jpg?media=1711065099)
After observing 37 breeds of dog over a two-year period, Czech and German scientists concluded that dogs poo in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field. They studied a total of 1,893 defecations and 5,582 urinations, recording the orientation of the dog’s spines with a compass. They didn’t offer an explanation as to why dogs relieve themselves in a north-south direction.
Fruit flies
![the head of a fruit fly in close up](https://usercontent.one/wp/www.newsgroove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/_530_The-five-magnetoreceptive-animals.jpg?media=1711065099)
By screening the fruit fly genome, some Chinese scientists have discovered clumps of proteins that they believe work as a magnetic sensor. It is theorised that these clumps, known as cryptochromes and found in many species, may employ quantum effects to amplify the magnetic field into a signal readable by animal’s brains.
Lobsters
![Lobster migration seems to be based on the Earth’s magnetic field.](https://usercontent.one/wp/www.newsgroove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/_434_The-five-magnetoreceptive-animals.jpg?media=1711065099)
Lobsters are unique among crustaceans for their large, coordinated migrations where they often walk in single-file lines of up to 50 creatures. After a series of experiments in a circular water tank fitted with magnetic coils, scientists concluded that their orientation is in part based on the Earth’s magnetic field.
Mole rats
![a close up of a mole rat showing its incisors](https://usercontent.one/wp/www.newsgroove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/_592_The-five-magnetoreceptive-animals.jpg?media=1711065099)
Mole rats have poor eyesight and spend most of their days building and scampering around complex networks of subterranean tunnels. They can rely on smell for short trips , but researchers from the universities of Tel Aviv and Geneva have found the creatures use the Earth’s magnetic field to guide them on longer journeys.