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SUMMARY:Navigating Our Way to Understanding Avian Magnetoreception – fro
 m Electron Hole Recombination Reactions to Chemical Amplification Pathways
  - Emrys Evans\, University of Oxford
DTSTART:20151111T110000Z
DTEND:20151111T120000Z
UID:TALK62217@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Stuart Higgins
DESCRIPTION:Magnetic fields as weak as the Earth’s can change the yields
  of radical pair reactions even though the energies involved are orders of
  magnitude smaller than kBT at room temperature. Proposed as the source of
  the light-dependent magnetic compass in migratory birds\, Magnetic Field 
 Effects (MFEs) on chemical reactions are thought to operate in flavin-cont
 aining protein photoreceptors in the retina. Numerous studies on flavin-ba
 sed model systems of biological importance have shown MFEs under physiolog
 ical conditions. In many instances\, these effects are small and are only 
 likely to be of any importance to the postulated chemical compass if the p
 rimary effects of the magnetic fields on the geminate radical pairs are fu
 rther enhanced via yet unknown amplification mechanisms.\n\nHere\, a novel
 \, highly sensitive technique is described which measures MFEs on the prom
 pt fluorescence in continuously photoexcited flavin / electron donor model
  systems. By exploiting the sensitivity of this method\, it is possible to
  profile the effects of the magnetic interaction characteristics within th
 e radical pair as well as those of the embedding media. Furthermore\, it h
 as been shown that any change in the kinetics of radicals formed downstrea
 m to the geminate radical pair can significantly enhance or diminish the p
 rompt MFE over the timescales of milliseconds and longer – an effect whi
 ch has been termed Enhanced MFEs (EMFEs). Given the efficiency of amplific
 ation and the simplicity of its implementation\, one could speculate that 
 nature might have adopted EMFEs to engineer an amplified response to weak 
 geomagnetic fields in magnetoreception.\n
LOCATION:Kapitza Building Seminar Room\, Cavendish Laboratory\, Department
  of Physics
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