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Stochastic dynamics of magnetosomes and a mechanism of biological orientation in the geomagnetic field
Author(s) -
Binhi V.N.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/bem.20178
Subject(s) - magnetosome , earth's magnetic field , magnetic field , antiparallel (mathematics) , physics , orientation (vector space) , magnetic nanoparticles , mathematics , materials science , quantum mechanics , geometry , magnetite , nanoparticle , metallurgy
The rotations of nanoscopic magnetic particles, magnetosomes, embedded into the cytoskeleton are considered. Under the influence of thermal disturbances, a great number of magnetosomes are shown to move chaotically between two stable equilibrium positions, in which their magnetic moments are neither parallel nor antiparallel to the static Earth's magnetic field (MF). The random rotations attain the value of order of a radian. The rate of the transitions and the probability of magnetosomes to be in the different states depend on the MF direction with respect to an averaged magnetosome's orientation. This effect explains the ability of migratory animals to orient themselves faultlessly in long term passages in the absence of the direct visibility of optical reference points. The sensitivity to deviation from an “ideal” orientation is estimated to be 2–4 degrees. Possible involvement of the stochastic dynamics of magnetosomes in biological magnetic navigation is discussed. Bioelectromagnetics 27:58–63, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.