Life on the Edge-Chapter 6 (The butterfly, the fruit fly and the quantum robin)

This chapter explores the science of animal navigation, focusing on the monarch butterfly, fruit fly, and quantum robin. It begins with Fred Urquhart's quest to discover where monarch butterflies disappear to in the winter, detailing his tagging efforts and the eventual discovery of their overwintering grounds in Mexico. The text explores how these animals, as well as others, navigate using the Earth's magnetic field. It looks at the role of cryptochromes and quantum entanglement in magneto reception, particularly in birds and insects. Researchers have discovered that cryptochromes in the eyes of these animals can be capable of forming free radicals with light, possibly acting as an avian compass. The text discusses the experiments of the Wilschko team which showed how the bird's compass is especially sensitive to oscillating magnetic fields. It also touches upon the evolutionary origins of this capability, suggesting that the ability to sense magnetic fields may have been inherited from a distant common ancestor.