The mystery of why birds are able to migrate thousands of kilometers is almost solved

The mystery of how birds migrate to faraway places, even across oceans and continents, is now almost solved.

By observing the robin, scientists get a clue as to how the animals sense the Earth’s magnetic field.

The way a robin senses a magnetic field is similar to how we use a compass to determine north or south. Scientists believe, birds have a kind of “compass” in their bodies.

New research supports this hypothesis after scientists discovered a chemical in the eye that is sensitive to magnetism.

According to Peter Hore, professor of chemistry at the University of Oxford, it is possible that birds “can see” the Earth’s magnetic field, although until now we are not sure how birds perceive this field.

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Hore explained, scientists may have found a molecule that allows migratory birds to accurately detect the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field.

“Birds clearly have this ability and use this information to help them determine their direction when migrating thousands of kilometers,” Hurray told BBC News.

For decades, scientists have studied how animals such as birds, turtles, fish, and insects sense magnetic fields and use them to help navigate migration paths.

‘living compass’

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In scientific journals Nature, scientists estimate that the European robin has a “living compass” — which is used to sense or sense Earth’s magnetic field — after identifying a chemical found in the retina of the eye, known as cryptochrome.

A team of scientists from the University of Oxford examined the shape of the molecule that had been purified in the laboratory to see if it could be used as a magnetic sensor.

They found that this molecule has the ability to pair “radicals” with high magnetic sensitivity. Radicals are atoms or molecules that are very chemically reactive.

Hore explained, the mechanism they investigated involves a magnetically sensitive chemical reaction, which is initiated by light in the bird’s eye, in this case in the retina.

“That [jelas] it is possible … that this very special chemical reaction can give birds information about the direction of the earth’s magnetic field and therefore these birds have a kind of compass [di dalam badan mereka], “explained Hore.

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Scientists estimate that light entering the retina causes electrons to move inside the cryptochrome molecule.

This process then produces pairs of high-energy radicals, which act like microscopic magnets.

However, scientists are still careful to jump to conclusions and emphasize that further studies are needed to confirm that this mechanism holds true and that cryptochrome can function as a magnetic sensor.

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