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Cuticulosome

Anatomical structure in birds From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The cuticulosome is a spherical, iron-rich structure located in the cuticular plate of auditory and vestibular hair cells in birds.[1][2] Cuticulosomes are 300-600 nm in diameter and are composed of ferritin-like granules that in some cases are structured in paracrystalline arrays. Due to its specific location in sensory hair cells of the inner ear and its iron-rich composition it was proposed to be involved in the magnetic sense of birds.[1] However, physical simulations and calculations showed that it lacks sufficient magnetic susceptibility to act as a torque based magnetoreceptor.[3] An alternative hypothesis suggests that the cuticulosome might work as an intracellular electromagnetic oscillator to detect magnetic fields.[3]

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