Dogs and Certain Primates May Be Able To See Magnetic Fields

It was already known or highly speculate that animals are capable of sensing magnetic fields, what's called magnetoreception.
The best known example that most of us know would be the pigeon (pigeon racing).

I'v been saying this for some time now that it's not just sensing but also visual, like in the matrix movie.
Now more proof is coming forward this might be the case by studying the cryptochromes proteins in different animals.

cryptochromes have been suggested to act as receptor molecules with magnetically sensitive radical pair reactions in the light-dependent magnetic compass sense of birds

Although this study didn't involve birds i'm sure they have this capability, the same would be for many insect species imo.

Some animals are capable of magnetoreception—an added sense that helps them detect magnetic fields. European scientists have now learned that the molecule responsible for this trait is also found in the eyes of dogs and some primates, which suggests they too might be capable of seeing magnetic fields.

Still there isn't enough evidence and data from this that it's a fact, so we'll have to wait for further studies to shed more light on the matter.
It would also be interesting to know how these animals separate visual and magnetic information when they are observed by the same receptors.


article
List of species that were studied in this experiment

That sounds really cool, i wonder what it would look like?

Like smoky bubbles, wavy lines like when theres gas in the air? hmmmm

Interesting stuff! Question is, if ground animals have this, is there magnetic fields to avoid or attract an animal to an area or simply as a sort of extra sensory map to get back to "base camp"?

Most interesting. I always thought my dauchsund was seeing ghosts. How do they prove it?

a reply to: intergalactic fire

Animals act differently before an earthquake hits. Birds stop chirping when they know a storm is heading their way. Dogs can sense emotion, and I also believe the paranormal. I've seen it exhibited with my own dog.

you would not physically see it.
like sound. some thing in the brain would detect it.
or around it. like a compass. they would know North.
but saying that, birds can fly 1000 of miles to find home.

I forget where I saw the study but it was a sampling of dog owners who were asked to record which direction their dogs faced when relieving themselves and close to 70% of the time they aligned themselves with magnetic north.

I know my two dogs do this as they will simultaneously face the same direction while taking a dump on the neighbors lawn.

He can than Obama for that.

a reply to: MOMof3

By studying the eyes of dead animals off course.

The retinae of 90 mammalian species were used for this study. Some animals had been sacrificed in the laboratory for unrelated experiments, some eyes came from animals that had died in captivity, some from hunted animals, and some from road kills

The method used here called immunohistochemistry, detection of specific molecules within cells.
Head over to the Method section for more detailed information.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus



I know my two dogs do this as they will simultaneously face the same direction while taking a dump on the neighbors lawn.

This sounds like a joke but now that you mention it. For garden dumps she always faces north, don't know what she is doing at the neighbors though.

a reply to: intergalactic fire

Nope, I am being serious this time. After I read the article I started noticing they always face the same way almost all of the time. I grabbed a compass and it was in the general direction of north.

I wonder if magnetoreception is the reason my dog stares at the top of my head when I talk to her, I don't have crazy hair or a mohawk... so maybe it is the magnetic fields around my head....hmmmm.

I'll test the theory wearing my tin foil hat and see if her eyes look anywhere else.

Saw a similar thing with regards to fox's hunting and alignment while facing north. Think it was on animal planet or some such... anyway, here is a link

phys.org...

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.

I am going to experiment with ths theory.

Maybe I can confirm this with a rare earth magnet placed by treat to let him associate it, take him inside, then bring him back out to play the cup game with boxes? Down wind, of course.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

wasn't joking either, our house is aligned n-s and our dog always faces the front of the house what would be north.
I'll make sure now to bring a compass on walks to see how she does.

a reply to: intergalactic fire

Your misunderstanding the article nothing can see magnetic fields. Animals like pigeons can detect differences in magnetic fields. Think of it more as feeling it. It's physically impossible for them to see it they produce no light.

a reply to: dragonridr

please point out my error

a reply to: imitator

Be honest....

You'll be taking it off, not putting it on, to do the test!

I have no doubt that dogs and cats perceive frequencies human's don't. I have also noticed that I get the best sleep and vivid dreams when my feet point east.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

That was first thing that came to my mind as well. I remember reading about that study. In fact, it may have even been here on ATS that I saw it.

If they are able to sense the magnetic field lines, either visually or otherwise, perhaps when they align themselves North to South it's like them getting into a river and standing in the most effective posture to remain in the flow of the stream.

It is probably not imperative they do this. But it may be the most comfortable.

-dex

originally posted by: intergalactic fire
a reply to: dragonridr

please point out my error

What they are discussing is something called cryptochromes. The magnetic field causes a chemical reaction in the eye. Not to get into a lot of detail as I'll put you to sleep but but it creates a pair of molecules with a free electron. If the radical pair is formed so that the spins on the two unpaired electrons in the system are entangled (i.e. they begin in a singlet or triplet state), and the reaction products are spin-dependent (i.e., there are distinct products for the cases where the radical pair system is in an overall singlet vs. triplet state), then there is an opportunity for an external magnetic field to affect the reaction by modulating the relative orientation of the electron spins. To the animal he would see different light levels depending on area of travel. He is not seeing anything of the magnetic field only the chemical reaction that reduces his vision. To the animal it would seem brighter when looking in certain directions dimmer in others as it would follow magnetic field lines.

They aren't seeing something that isn't there they in fact have reduced vision depending on how the molecules are aligned. This is what this article is about is how their vision is effected dependending on magnetic fields.

Sharks have an organ for detecting magnetic fields works on a similar principle for them they would feel different traveling in different directions. These organs have not been detected in birds or animals. But a bacteria gave us a clue how it might work in animals and that's why we started looking at chemical reactions in the eye.

originally posted by: intergalactic fire
a reply to: dragonridr

please point out my error

A lens isn't going to focus a magnetic field.

There isn't a "magnetic image" to see.

"Sense" would be a better word choice than "see".