Humans can detect the earth’s magnetic fields

• Scientists have long known that turtles, birds, honeybees and even bacteria can sense the earth’s magnetic field and use them for navigation.
• But this magneto-reception has hardly been tested in humans and many studies have been inconclusive.
• Now a team of researchers from California Institute of Technology, U.S. and the University of Tokyo has shown that humans do indeed unconsciously respond to the changes in the earth’s magnetic fields.
• But they are yet to decode what our brains may be using this information for.
• The most interesting find was that the participants’ brain responded only to changes when the magnetic field pointed toward the floor.
• This may be due to the fact that the study participants were people who live in the Northern Hemisphere.
• In this region, the natural geomagnetic field points downwards to the North.

The Hindu