Science Memes

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Ant smell (mander.xyz)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (2 children)

This makes me wonder all the weird shit we can't detect just because of our genes. Like I read about this one women who could smell dementia. And to think birds can see UV light and its theorized they can see the fucking earth's magnetic field which is how they can tell which why is north and south.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Human brain waves are affected ever so slightly by magnetic fields, some people's more than others. It might very well be that there's some kind of subtle subconscious effect of the Earth's magnetic field on our sense of orientation.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Uh, brainwaves are not magnetic.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Of course not, did I say they were?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I thought birds have a little bit of iron enrichment above their beaks, wich tells them the direction?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Some do but it most likely doesn't! There are experiments where the bird's beaks had a local anesthesia applied and it had no effect on the bird's sense of orientation. Instead it seems like it's most likely something called cryptochrome in the eyes, where a quantum mechanism (radical pair reaction) might be taking place that could generate sense-able electrical signals. There is further evidence for this, like birds being unable to tell when a magnetic field is reversed 180° (which an iron-based compass should be able to), and their sense of direction being effectively turned off by very mild RF interference at the right frequency, which also wouldn't affect an iron compass.