{"id":13158,"date":"2024-03-29T13:05:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T13:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/heres-how-magnetic-fields-shape-desert-ants-brains\/"},"modified":"2024-03-29T13:05:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T13:05:33","slug":"heres-how-magnetic-fields-shape-desert-ants-brains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/heres-how-magnetic-fields-shape-desert-ants-brains\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how magnetic fields shape desert ants\u2019 brains"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div> \r\n
\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n

For desert ants, Earth\u2019s magnetic field isn\u2019t just a compass: It may also sculpt their brains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stepping outside their nest for the first time, young ants need to learn how to forage. The ants train partly by walking a loop near their nests for the first three days. During this stroll, they repeatedly pause and then pirouette to gaze back at the nest entrance, learning how to find their way back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when the magnetic field around the nest entrance was disturbed<\/a>, ant apprentices couldn\u2019t figure out where to look, often gazing in random directions, researchers report in the Feb. 20 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>. What\u2019s more, the altered magnetic field seemed to affect connections between neurons in the learning and memory centers in the young ants\u2019 brains.<\/p>\n\n\n