Foley, Lauren E.Gegear, Robert J.Reppert, Steven M.2022-08-232022-08-232011-06-212012-02-28Nat Commun. 2011 Jun 21;2:356. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1364. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1364">Link to article on publisher's site</a>2041-1723 (Linking)10.1038/ncomms136421694704https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/33235Humans are not believed to have a magnetic sense, even though many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation and navigation. One model of magnetosensing in animals proposes that geomagnetic fields are perceived by light-sensitive chemical reactions involving the flavoprotein cryptochrome (CRY). Here we show using a transgenic approach that human CRY2, which is heavily expressed in the retina, can function as a magnetosensor in the magnetoreception system of Drosophila and that it does so in a light-dependent manner. The results show that human CRY2 has the molecular capability to function as a light-sensitive magnetosensor and reopen an area of sensory biology that is ready for further exploration in humans.en-US<p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.</p>Journal Articlehttps://escholarship.umassmed.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2780&amp;context=gsbs_sp&amp;unstamped=1https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_sp/17702580894gsbs_sp/1770