The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans
The Earth’s abundance of iron has played a crucial role in both generating its geomagnetic field and contributing to the development of early life. In ancient oceans, iron ions, particularly around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, might have catalyzed the formation of macromolecules, leading to the emer...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1482872/full |
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| author | Takashi Shibata Takashi Shibata Noriaki Hattori Hisao Nishijo Satoshi Kuroda Kaoru Takakusaki |
| author_facet | Takashi Shibata Takashi Shibata Noriaki Hattori Hisao Nishijo Satoshi Kuroda Kaoru Takakusaki |
| author_sort | Takashi Shibata |
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| description | The Earth’s abundance of iron has played a crucial role in both generating its geomagnetic field and contributing to the development of early life. In ancient oceans, iron ions, particularly around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, might have catalyzed the formation of macromolecules, leading to the emergence of life and the Last Universal Common Ancestor. Iron continued to influence catalysis, metabolism, and molecular evolution, resulting in the creation of magnetosome gene clusters in magnetotactic bacteria, which enabled these unicellular organisms to detect geomagnetic field. Although humans lack a clearly identified organ for geomagnetic sensing, many life forms have adapted to geomagnetic field—even in deep-sea environments—through mechanisms beyond the conventional five senses. Research indicates that zebrafish hindbrains are sensitive to magnetic fields, the semicircular canals of pigeons respond to weak potential changes through electromagnetic induction, and human brainwaves respond to magnetic fields in darkness. This suggests that the trigeminal brainstem nucleus and vestibular nuclei, which integrate multimodal magnetic information, might play a role in geomagnetic processing. From iron-based metabolic systems to magnetic sensing in neurons, the evolution of life reflects ongoing adaptation to geomagnetic field. However, since magnetite-activated, torque-based ion channels within cell membranes have not yet been identified, specialized sensory structures like the semicircular canals might still be necessary for detecting geomagnetic orientation. This mini-review explores the evolution of life from Earth’s formation to light-independent human magnetoreception, examining both the magnetite hypothesis and the electromagnetic induction hypothesis as potential mechanisms for human geomagnetic detection. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8c02d08e7ea4ba785740a75cd0d103b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8c02d08e7ea4ba785740a75cd0d103b2024-11-29T07:16:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612024-11-011810.3389/fnhum.2024.14828721482872The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humansTakashi Shibata0Takashi Shibata1Noriaki Hattori2Hisao Nishijo3Satoshi Kuroda4Kaoru Takakusaki5Department of Neurosurgery, Toyama University Hospital, Toyama, JapanDepartment of Neurosurgery, Toyama Nishi General Hospital, Toyama, JapanDepartment of Rehabilitation, Toyama University Hospital, Toyama, JapanFaculty of Human Sciences, University of East Asia, Yamaguchi, JapanDepartment of Neurosurgery, Toyama University Hospital, Toyama, JapanThe Research Center for Brain Function and Medical Engineering, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, JapanThe Earth’s abundance of iron has played a crucial role in both generating its geomagnetic field and contributing to the development of early life. In ancient oceans, iron ions, particularly around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, might have catalyzed the formation of macromolecules, leading to the emergence of life and the Last Universal Common Ancestor. Iron continued to influence catalysis, metabolism, and molecular evolution, resulting in the creation of magnetosome gene clusters in magnetotactic bacteria, which enabled these unicellular organisms to detect geomagnetic field. Although humans lack a clearly identified organ for geomagnetic sensing, many life forms have adapted to geomagnetic field—even in deep-sea environments—through mechanisms beyond the conventional five senses. Research indicates that zebrafish hindbrains are sensitive to magnetic fields, the semicircular canals of pigeons respond to weak potential changes through electromagnetic induction, and human brainwaves respond to magnetic fields in darkness. This suggests that the trigeminal brainstem nucleus and vestibular nuclei, which integrate multimodal magnetic information, might play a role in geomagnetic processing. From iron-based metabolic systems to magnetic sensing in neurons, the evolution of life reflects ongoing adaptation to geomagnetic field. However, since magnetite-activated, torque-based ion channels within cell membranes have not yet been identified, specialized sensory structures like the semicircular canals might still be necessary for detecting geomagnetic orientation. This mini-review explores the evolution of life from Earth’s formation to light-independent human magnetoreception, examining both the magnetite hypothesis and the electromagnetic induction hypothesis as potential mechanisms for human geomagnetic detection.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1482872/fullgeomagnetic fieldmagnetoreceptionmagnetotactic bacteriaelectromagnetic inductionsemicircular canalsiron |
| spellingShingle | Takashi Shibata Takashi Shibata Noriaki Hattori Hisao Nishijo Satoshi Kuroda Kaoru Takakusaki The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans Frontiers in Human Neuroscience geomagnetic field magnetoreception magnetotactic bacteria electromagnetic induction semicircular canals iron |
| title | The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans |
| title_full | The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans |
| title_fullStr | The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans |
| title_full_unstemmed | The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans |
| title_short | The origins of light-independent magnetoreception in humans |
| title_sort | origins of light independent magnetoreception in humans |
| topic | geomagnetic field magnetoreception magnetotactic bacteria electromagnetic induction semicircular canals iron |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1482872/full |
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