A recent article in the NYTimes Study Sheds Light on How Birds Navigate by Magnetic Field reveals new evidence of a biological compass used by birds to navigate long distances by detecting variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.

Now, two researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Le-Qing Wu and David Dickman, have solved a central part of that puzzle, identifying cells in a pigeon’s brain that record detailed information on the earth’s magnetic field, a kind of biological compass.

Could ambient detection of the Earth’s magnetic field augment human navigational ability? Imagine hiking in the desert wearing an earring that gently pulses based on magnetic activity, or perhaps a pair of earrings that provides both intensity and directional information.