ReviewFrontiers in physiology2023
Cryptochromes in mammals: a magnetoreception misconception?
Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 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.
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.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Magnetoreceptive CRY/MagR complexes: linking circadian redox signalling to protein aggregation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.ADMET & DMPK · 2026Review
- The Effect of High-Voltage Power Lines on Magnetic Orientation of Domestic Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Human Responses to Magnetic and Hypomagnetic Fields: Available Evidence and Potential Risks for Deep Space Travel.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Birds may represent a useful animal model for studying human mental disorders.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2025Review
- Weak Radiofrequency Field Effects on Biological Systems Mediated through the Radical Pair Mechanism.Chemical reviews · 2025Review
- Article
- Quantum food and nutrition: Subatomic approaches to nourishment for health and well-being.Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Article
- Interplay of Light, Melatonin, and Circadian Genes in Skin Pigmentation Regulation.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2025Article
- Magnetogenetics as a promising tool for controlling cellular signaling pathways.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2024Review
- 'Seeing' the electromagnetic spectrum: spotlight on the cryptochrome photocycle.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cryptochromes are flavoproteins related to photolyases that are widespread throughout the plant and animal kingdom. They govern blue light-dependent growth in plants, control circadian rhythms in a light-dependent manner in invertebrates, and play a central part in the circadian clock in vertebrates. In addition, cryptochromes might function as receptors that allow animals to sense the Earth's magnetic field. As cryptochromes are also present in mammals including humans, the possibility of a magnetosensitive protein is exciting. Here we attempt to provide a concise overview of cryptochromes in mammals. We briefly review their canonical role in the circadian rhythm from the molecular level to physiology, behaviour and diseases. We then discuss their disputed light sensitivity and proposed role in the magnetic sense in mammals, providing three mechanistic hypotheses. Specifically, mammalian cryptochromes could form light-induced radical pairs in particular cellular milieus, act as magnetoreceptors in darkness, or as secondary players in a magnetoreception signalling cascade. Future research can test these hypotheses to investigate if the role of mammalian cryptochromes extends beyond the circadian clock.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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 OpenQuestion graph.