Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35397661›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2022

Observations about utilitarian coherence in the avian compass.

Luke D Smith, Jean Deviers, Daniel R Kattnig

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Luke D SmithLiving Systems Institute and Department of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.
Jean DeviersLiving Systems Institute and Department of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.
Daniel R KattnigLiving Systems Institute and Department of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK. d.r.kattnig@exeter.ac.uk.
University of Exeter · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is hypothesised that the avian compass relies on spin dynamics in a recombining radical pair. Quantum coherence has been suggested as a resource to this process that nature may utilise to achieve increased compass sensitivity. To date, the true functional role of coherence in these natural systems has remained speculative, lacking insights from sufficiently complex models. Here, we investigate realistically large radical pair models with up to 21 nuclear spins, inspired by the putative magnetosensory protein cryptochrome. By varying relative radical orientations, we reveal correlations of several coherence measures with compass fidelity. Whilst electronic coherence is found to be an ineffective predictor of compass sensitivity, a robust correlation of compass sensitivity and a global coherence measure is established. The results demonstrate the importance of realistic models, and appropriate choice of coherence measure, in elucidating the quantum nature of the avian compass.

Indexed as

Animal MigrationMagnetic FieldsAnimalsBirdsCryptochromesOrientationCryptochromes

Identifiers

PMID35397661
PMCPMC8994785
OpenAlexW3213303329

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 OpenQuestion graph.