Magnetic field lines in a bacterial cell
The image shows the magnetic field lines in a single bacterial cell. The fine white lines are the magnetic field lines in the cell, which were measured using off-axis electron holography. Such bacteria live in sediments and bodies of water, and move parallel to geomagnetic field lines as a result of the torque exerted on their magnetosome chains by the earth's magnetic field. (click to see full sized version)
Acknowledgments: Richard Frankel, Mihaly Posfai, Peter Buseck
Visit the University of Cambridge Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy Gallery.
I will post the others in this series over time. To see it all now, visit the Nanotechnology Now Gallery.
1 comment:
Oh wow! That is so interesting. I wonder if this is a similar mechanism that guides carrier pigeons.
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