Each year, the Arctic Tern travels over 40,000 miles, migrating nearly from pole to pole and back again. Other birds make similar (though shorter) journeys in search of warmer climes. How do these ...

Recently, a collaboration of researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Universities of Oldenburg (Germany) and Oxford (UK) have been gathering evidence suggesting that a ...

The magnetic sense of migratory birds such as European robins is thought to be based on a specific light-sensitive protein in the eye. Researchers demonstrate that the protein cryptochrome 4, found in ...

The ability to see Earth's magnetic field, thought to be restricted to sea turtles and swallows and other long-distance animal navigators, may also reside in human eyes. Tests of cryptochrome 2, a key ...

It was a puzzle about birds. Migratory birds are known to rely on Earth's magnetic field to help them navigate the globe. And it was suspected that a protein called cryptochrome, which is sensitive to ...

A molecule found in the retinas of European robins seems to be able to sense weak magnetic fields, such as that of Earth, after it is exposed to light. Christopher Intagliata: This is Scientific ...

Cryptochromes (from the Greek κρυπτό χρώμα, hidden colour) are a class of blue light-sensitive flavoproteins found in plants and animals. Cryptochromes are involved in the circadian rhythms of plants ...

New research from a multidisciplinary team helps to illuminate the mechanisms behind circadian rhythms, offering new hope for dealing with jet lag, insomnia and other sleep disorders. New research ...