The discovery that living and dead cockroaches have strikingly different magnetic properties could help bioengineers design new magnetic sensors.
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv February 9, 2017
Birds are the best-known example of creatures able to sense magnetic fields and to use them for orientation and navigation. Less well known are the magneto-sensing abilities of American cockroaches, which quickly become magnetized when placed in a magnetic field.
Just how these creatures use this ability is the subject of much speculation. But there is general agreement that a better understanding of biomagnetic sensing could help engineers design better sensors for other applications, such as microrobot navigation.
But before that can happen, engineers will need a far better understanding of how cockroaches sense magnetic fields and how they become magnetized themselves.
(...)
Keep reading: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603616/the-curious-case-of-cockroach-magnetization/
Citing this: http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.00538 (In-Vivo Biomagnetic Characterisation of the American Cockroach)
by Emerging Technology from the arXiv February 9, 2017
Birds are the best-known example of creatures able to sense magnetic fields and to use them for orientation and navigation. Less well known are the magneto-sensing abilities of American cockroaches, which quickly become magnetized when placed in a magnetic field.
Just how these creatures use this ability is the subject of much speculation. But there is general agreement that a better understanding of biomagnetic sensing could help engineers design better sensors for other applications, such as microrobot navigation.
But before that can happen, engineers will need a far better understanding of how cockroaches sense magnetic fields and how they become magnetized themselves.
(...)
Keep reading: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603616/the-curious-case-of-cockroach-magnetization/
Citing this: http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.00538 (In-Vivo Biomagnetic Characterisation of the American Cockroach)