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Magnetic Field Effect on Biological Systems pp 13–24Cite as

Magnetic Effects on Lower Organisms

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Abstract

Bacteria that orient and swim in a preferred direction in magnetic fields have been observed in diverse aquatic environments.1 These magnetotactic bacteria include a variety of morphologically distinct forms. Kalmijn and Blakemore2 found that these bacteria orient in uniform magnetic fields of about 0.5 G. Reversal of the geomagnetic field with Helmholtz coils caused the swimming bacteria to turn around in large U-turns and swim in the opposite direction. Killed bacteria also orient to align with imposed magnetic fields. Richard Blakemore

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USA

    Richard Blakemore

  2. Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Ad. J. Kalmijn

  3. Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    William T. Keeton

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Chicago, Illinois, 60680, USA

    Bernard Greenberg

  5. Safety and Environmental Protection Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 11973, USA

    John W. Baum, Lloyd A. Schairer & Kenneth L. Lindahl

Authors
  1. Richard Blakemore
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  2. Ad. J. Kalmijn
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  3. William T. Keeton
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  4. Bernard Greenberg
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  5. John W. Baum
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  6. Lloyd A. Schairer
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  7. Kenneth L. Lindahl
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biology and Medicine, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, USA

    Tom S. Tenforde

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© 1979 Plenum Press, New York

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Blakemore, R. et al. (1979). Magnetic Effects on Lower Organisms. In: Tenforde, T.S. (eds) Magnetic Field Effect on Biological Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9143-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9143-6_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-9145-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-9143-6

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