Unravelling the enigma of bird magnetoreception

Magnetogenetics as a promising tool for controlling cellular signaling pathways

Magnetogenetics emerges as a transformative approach for modulating cellular signaling pathways through the strategic application of magnetic fields and nanoparticles. This technique leverages the unique properties of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to induce mechanical or thermal stimuli within cells, facilitating the activation of mechano- and thermosensitive proteins without the need for traditional ligand-receptor interactions. Unlike traditional modalities that often require invasive interventions and lack precision in targeting specific cellular functions, magnetogenetics offers a non-invasive alternative with the capacity for deep tissue penetration and the potential for targeting a broad spectrum of cellular processes. This review underscores magnetogenetics' broad applicability, from steering stem cell differentiation to manipulating neuronal activity and immune responses, highlighting its potential in regenerative medicine, neuroscience, and cancer therapy. Furthermore, the review explores the challenges and future directions of magnetogenetics, including the development of genetically programmed magnetic nanoparticles and the integration of magnetic field-sensitive cells for in vivo applications. Magnetogenetics stands at the forefront of cellular manipulation technologies, offering novel insights into cellular signaling and opening new avenues for therapeutic interventions.

Neuromorphic antennal sensory system

Insect antennae facilitate the nuanced detection of vibrations and deflections, and the non-contact perception of magnetic or chemical stimuli, capabilities not found in mammalian skin. Here, we report a neuromorphic antennal sensory system that emulates the structural, functional, and neuronal characteristics of ant antennae. Our system comprises electronic antennae sensor with three-dimensional flexible structures that detects tactile and magnetic stimuli. The integration of artificial synaptic devices adsorbed with solution-processable MoS2 nanoflakes enables synaptic processing of sensory information. By emulating the architecture of receptor-neuron pathway, our system realizes hardware-level, spatiotemporal perception of tactile contact, surface pattern, and magnetic field (detection limits: 1.3 mN, 50 μm, 9.4 mT). Vibrotactile-perception tasks involving profile and texture classifications were accomplished with high accuracy (> 90%), surpassing human performance in "blind" tactile explorations. Magneto-perception tasks including magnetic navigation and touchless interaction were successfully completed. Our work represents a milestone for neuromorphic sensory systems and biomimetic perceptual intelligence.

Magnetometer-Detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Photochemically Hyperpolarized Molecules

Photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) enables nuclear spin ordering by irradiating samples with light. Polarized spins are conventionally detected via high-field chemical-shift-resolved NMR (above 0.1 T). In this Letter, we demonstrate in situ low-field photo-CIDNP measurements using a magnetically shielded fast-field-cycling NMR setup detecting Larmor precession via atomic magnetometers. For solutions comprising mM concentrations of the photochemically polarized molecules, hyperpolarized ¹H magnetization is detected by pulse-acquired NMR spectroscopy. The observed NMR line widths are about 5 times narrower than normally anticipated in high-field NMR and are systematically affected by light irradiation during the acquisition period, reflecting a reduction of the transverse relaxation time constant, T₂*, on the order of 10%. Magnetometer-detected photo-CIDNP spectroscopy enables straightforward observation of spin-chemistry processes in the ambient field range from a few nT to tens of mT. Potential applications of this measuring modality are discussed.

Chronobiology Meets Quantum Biology: A New Paradigm Overlooking the Horizon?

Biological processes and physiological functions in living beings are featured by oscillations with a period of about 24 h (circadian) or cycle at the second and third harmonic (ultradian) of the basic frequency, driven by the biological clock. This molecular mechanism, common to all kingdoms of life, comprising animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and protists, represents an undoubted adaptive advantage allowing anticipation of predictable changes in the environmental niche or of the interior milieu. Biological rhythms are the field of study of Chronobiology. In the last decade, growing evidence hints that molecular platforms holding up non-trivial quantum phenomena, including entanglement, coherence, superposition and tunnelling, bona fide evolved in biosystems. Quantum effects have been mainly implicated in processes related to electromagnetic radiation in the spectrum of visible light and ultraviolet rays, such as photosynthesis, photoreception, magnetoreception, DNA mutation, and not light related such as mitochondrial respiration and enzymatic activity. Quantum effects in biological systems are the field of study of Quantum Biology. Rhythmic changes at the level of gene expression, as well as protein quantity and subcellular distribution, confer temporal features to the molecular platform hosting electrochemical processes and non-trivial quantum phenomena. Precisely, a huge amount of molecules plying scaffold to quantum effects show rhythmic level fluctuations and this biophysical model implies that timescales of biomolecular dynamics could impinge on quantum mechanics biofunctional role. The study of quantum phenomena in biological cycles proposes a profitable “entanglement” between the areas of interest of these seemingly distant scientific disciplines to enlighten functional roles for quantum effects in rhythmic biosystems.

Modulation of MagR magnetic properties via iron-sulfur cluster binding

Iron-sulfur clusters are essential cofactors found in all kingdoms of life and play essential roles in fundamental processes, including but not limited to respiration, photosynthesis, and nitrogen fixation. The chemistry of iron-sulfur clusters makes them ideal for sensing various redox environmental signals, while the physics of iron-sulfur clusters and its host proteins have been long overlooked. One such protein, MagR, has been proposed as a putative animal magnetoreceptor. It forms a rod-like complex with cryptochromes (Cry) and possesses intrinsic magnetic moment. However, the magnetism modulation of MagR remains unknown. Here in this study, iron-sulfur cluster binding in MagR has been characterized. Three conserved cysteines of MagR play different roles in iron-sulfur cluster binding. Two forms of iron-sulfur clusters binding have been identified in pigeon MagR and showed different magnetic properties: [3Fe-4S]-MagR appears to be superparamagnetic and has saturation magnetization at 5 K but [2Fe-2S]-MagR is paramagnetic. While at 300 K, [2Fe-2S]-MagR is diamagnetic but [3Fe-4S]-MagR is paramagnetic. Together, the different types of iron-sulfur cluster binding in MagR attribute distinguished magnetic properties, which may provide a fascinating mechanism for animals to modulate the sensitivity in magnetic sensing.

Bioinspired Magnetic Nanochains for Medicine

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been widely used for medicine, both in therapy and diagnosis. Their guided assembly into anisotropic structures, such as nanochains, has recently opened new research avenues; for instance, targeted drug delivery. Interestingly, magnetic nanochains do occur in nature, and they are thought to be involved in the navigation and geographic orientation of a variety of animals and bacteria, although many open questions on their formation and functioning remain. In this review, we will analyze what is known about the natural formation of magnetic nanochains, as well as the synthetic protocols to produce them in the laboratory, to conclude with an overview of medical applications and an outlook on future opportunities in this exciting research field.