Spooky Navigation?

In the previous couple posts, I've discussed the subject of quantum entanglement - the idea that quantum particles that are separated by even a large distance are connected and can communicate instantaneously. This is such a weird idea, but can it possibly have any affect on you?

Well, as it turns out, researchers are discovering more every day how much quantum entanglement affects things you wouldn't even guess. Take this for example. Some scientists are doing research to see if quantum entanglement affects the way birds navigate the globe. For more detail, see the article, but here's a brief summary.

Basically, there's a molecule called a cryptochrome in a bird's eye, and roughly it works like the following. There are pairs of electrons in that have opposite "spin" (a quantum mechanical property). When one of the electrons is struck by light, it is sent flying off. Because of this motion, magnetic fields have the ability to affect it's spin. Some scientists believe this triggers a chemical response that alerts the bird of a magnetic field. The question is, how is this signal triggered? Well, physicist Hans Briegel and his colleagues believe it may have something to do with quantum entanglement! Based off of some calculations, it doesn't look like it's the case, but they haven't been able to study how the actual molecule works inside a real bird. They did, however, find that entanglement DOES make a difference in other molecules of biological significance.

So entanglement may or may or may not affect a bird's sensitivity to magnetic fields, but it would appear quantum effects do! In fact, many researchers are looking into the effects of quantum mechanics in biology, pretty neat I think!