ArticleNature communications2024
Magnetosensitivity of tightly bound radical pairs in cryptochrome is enabled by the quantum Zeno effect.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Verification of quantum biological predictions for weak magnetic field effects on superoxide in planarians.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Quantum Zeno Effect Permits Magnetosensitivity in Lipid Peroxidation despite Fluctuating Inter-Radical Coupling.JACS Au · 2026Article
- Electromagnetic fields regulate iron metabolism: From mechanisms to applications.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- An Open-Quantum-Systems Theory of Quantum-Biological Communication Channels.IEEE transactions on molecular, biological, and multi-scale communications · 2026Article
- Article
- High-Intensity Pulse Magnetic Fields Affect Redox Homeostasis and Survival Rate ofBiomolecules · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The radical pair mechanism accounts for the magnetic field sensitivity of a large class of chemical reactions and is hypothesised to underpin numerous magnetosensitive traits in biology, including the avian compass. Traditionally, magnetic field sensitivity in this mechanism is attributed to radical pairs with weakly interacting, well-separated electrons; closely bound pairs were considered unresponsive to weak fields due to arrested spin dynamics. In this study, we challenge this view by examining the FAD-superoxide radical pair within cryptochrome, a protein hypothesised to function as a biological magnetosensor. Contrary to expectations, we find that this tightly bound radical pair can respond to Earth-strength magnetic fields, provided that the recombination reaction is strongly asymmetric-a scenario invoking the quantum Zeno effect. These findings present a plausible mechanism for weak magnetic field effects in biology, suggesting that even closely associated radical pairs, like those involving superoxide, may play a role in magnetic sensing.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.