Observers have known for decades that birds and other animals navigate using the earth's magnetic field. However, the mechanism that allows this remains unknown. One hypothesis to explain this ability suggests that animals see magnetic fields using special molecules in their eyes that are magnetically sensitive and activated by light. Until recently there has been no support for this magnetoreception hypothesis.

Scientists led by Devens Gust from Arizona State and Peter Hore from the University of Oxford recently discovered a molecule that becomes sensitive to the strength and orientation of the earth's magnetic field after exposure to light. The molecule is called carotene-porphyrin-fullerene and could resemble the type of molecule in a bird's eye used for navigation. Although the research does not prove that birds use magnetoreception, it does support the possibility that birds could utilize this type of chemical mechanism for navigation. You can read more about this exciting research in Science News and at the website for the journal Nature.