h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Quantum Entanglement Migration for Bird-Brains - A88018004
Author: Dmitri Gheorgheni - Not Banned in China - U1590784

This comes out of a question asked this morning on Twitter by a quantum physicist who wanted to know what biological phenomena could be traced to quantum mechanics. I watched a video that mentioned robins. Then I hunted out a paper.

Then I got a headache trying to understand quantum entanglement...

Anyway, here it is. Tavaron promises to take a picture of a zebra finch.

Fascinating indeed and coincidental as I was just contemplating the migration of geese A88015386

Tavaron has given us a zebra finch.

Beautiful

Good to see this Entry survived the 2021-2023 'Class A Wormhole' - really useful for the Guide, and the photo is great!

The title of the Edited Version is: "Quantum Entanglement for Bird-Brains: Insights into Avian Migration"

Just one bit is perhaps too technical:
"Birds' eyes have cryptochrome proteins. These are flavoproteins which are sensitive to blue light. In birds, as well as other animals and even plants, they are involved in circadian rhythms. "

Did you say a few words more about what flavoproteins and circadian rhythms are?

O-kayyy...you asked for it:

After 'These are flavoproteins which are sensitive to blue light.' add this:

What are cryptochrome proteins, you ask? As well you might. Cryptochrome proteins (from Greek &kappa;&rho;&upsilon;&pi;&tau;&omicron;&sigmaf; &nsbp; &chi;&rho;&omega;&mu;&alpha; meaning 'hidden colour') are a class of flavoproteins. Flavoproteins are oxidising enzymes containing as electron acceptor the substance flavin-adenine dinucleotide, or FAD. This molecule uses riboflavin (vitamin B2</SUB&gt as a building block. If you're a molecular biologist, you probably already knew that. If you aren't, you're probably sorry you asked.

In birds, as well as other animals and even plants, cryptochrome proteins are involved in circadian rhythms. 'Circadian' comes from Latin, 'circa = about' and 'dies = day'. As the word implies, most living things on the planet Earth, from microbes to humans, have physical and behavioural patterns that follow a general 24-hour cycle and respond to light and dark. If you've ever been a shift worker, you know what it's like to have your circadian rhythm interfered with. The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology.

Getting back to cryptochrome proteins: they are also implicated in the way some organisms sense magnetic fieldsThe jury's still out on whether humans can do this, but it's being studied. See 'Transduction of the Geomagnetic Field as Evidenced from alpha-Band Activity in the Human Brain', peer-reviewed, in eNeuro, 18 March 2019, 6 (2) ENEURO.0483-18.2019.. Birds use Earth's magnetic field to navigate back-and-forth to their favourite spots. They are remarkably accurate. Researchers now think the birds' cryptochrome proteins are helping them figure out when to move house, and where to go. It's like birdie Satnav.

Then back to normal.

Sorry for upsetting you The protein sentences just came across to me like '*unknown thing* is an *unknown thing*', so I was just wondering if you could recall whether that had been updated in any way when the Entry was Edited - didn't mean to make you look up more technical detail about molecular biology...

The Entry has been updated - does that look OK?

Oh, no, no upset! (Sorry if I sounded like that, it only took a little looking up.) You're right - it was a good idea to add that. I think the first time through I was just afraid of overloading people with information. One thing I've learned from social media, though: misapprehensions about biological systems are all over the place - best we do our part to spread good information.

I think it reads better now, and looks great.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Excellent - the Entry has been restored to the Edited Guide A88024890

Congratulations!

Thanks for looking up the additional information - 'O-kayyy' sounded like clanging bells in my head, but I'm glad it wasn't that loud in your head

Around here, it just means, 'Here it comes, this may be more than you asked for.' I was afraid of infodumping.