Image courtesy of Herve Cadiou Confocal microscopy image of a
cell from the nasal passage of a trout. The outline of the cell
is indicated by a dotted line, the blue area is the nucleus, and
the white substance highlighted in the yellow box is a clump of
magnetite crystals, which rotate the cell one way or the other
in the presence of a magnetic field. updated 7/9/2012 4:26:21 PM
ET 2012-07-09T20:26:21  Researchers have isolated what are
essentially tiny compass needles in the noses of rainbow trout
that may explain these and many other animals' incredible
ability to navigate across vast distances.  When cells scraped
from the trout's nasal passages were placed in a rotating
magnetic field, a clump of tiny iron-rich crystals inside the
cells called magnetite — the same mineral used in compass
needles — spun in synchrony with the field, turning the cells
around with them.  The strength of the crystals' magnetic
response, and their firm attachment to the surrounding cell
membranes, lent strong support for what