The paper, published in Nature today (22/02/23) makes significant advances in our understanding of how animals sense and respond to magnetic fields in their environment.

This new knowledge could also enable the development of novel measurement tools where the activity of biological cells - including potentially those in humans - can be selectively stimulated using magnetic fields.

The team show for the first time that a molecule present in all living cells called Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (or FAD for short), can, at high enough amounts, impart magnetic sensitivity on a biological system.

Scientists already know that species such as the monarch butterfly, pigeon, turtle and other animals use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate over long distances.

But the discovery could mean the biological molecules required to sense magnetic fields are present- to a greater or lesser extent-  in all living things.

The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Co-lead researcher and neuroscientist Professor Richard Baines from The University of Manchester said: “How we sense the external world, from vision, hearing through to touch taste and smell, are well understood.

“But by contrast, which animals can sense and how they respond to a magnetic field remains unknown.

“This study has made significant advances in understanding how animals sense and respond to external magnetic fields - a very active and disputed field.”

To do so, the research team exploited the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) to manipulate gene expression to test out their ideas.

The fruit fly, although very different on the outside, contains a nervous system that works exactly the same way as ours and has been used in countless studies as a model to understand human biology.

Magnetoreception - as the sixth sense is called - is much more difficult to detect than the more familiar five-senses of vision, smell, hearing, touch and taste.

And that, says co-lead researcher and neuroscientist Dr Adam Bradlaugh from The University of Manchester, is because a magnetic field carries very little energy, unlike photons of light or sound waves used by the other senses which, by comparison, pack a big punch.

To get around this, nature has exploited quantum physics and Cryptochrome – a light-sensitive protein found in animals and plants.

Dr Alex Jones, a quantum chemist, from the National Physical Laboratory and also part of the team said: “The absorption of light by the Cryptochrome results in movement of an electron within the protein which, due to quantum physics, can generate an active form of Cryptochrome that occupies one of two states.

“The presence of a magnetic field impacts the relative populations of the two states, which in turn influences the ‘active-lifetime of this protein.”

Dr Bradlaugh said: ”One of our most striking findings, and one that is at odds with current understanding, is that cells continue to ‘sense’ magnetic fields when only a very small fragment of Cryptochrome is present.

“That shows cells can, at least in a laboratory, sense magnetic fields through other ways.”

He added: “We identify a possible ‘other way’ by showing that a basic molecule, present in all cells can, at high enough amounts, impart magnetic sensitivity without any part of Cryptochromes being present’.

“This molecule - Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (or FAD for short) – is the light sensor that normally binds to Cryptochromes to support magnetosensitivity.”

The findings, say the researchers, are important because understanding the molecular machinery that allows a cell to sense a magnetic field provides us with better ability to appreciate how environmental factors (for example, electromagnetic noise from telecommunications) may impact on animals that rely on a magnetic sense to survive.

The magnetic field effects on FAD in the absence of Cryptochrome also provide a clue as to the evolutionary origins of magnetoreception, in that it seems likely that Cryptochrome has evolved to utilize magnetic field effects on this ubiquitous and biologically ancient metabolite.

Co-lead author Professor Ezio Rosato from The University of Leicester said: “This study may ultimately allow us to better appreciate the effects that magnetic field exposure might potentially have on humans.

“Moreover, because FAD and other components of these molecular machines are found in many cells, this new understanding may open new avenues of research into using magnetic fields to manipulate the activation of target genes

“That is considered a holy-grail as an experimental tool and possibly eventually for clinical use.”

The  paper ‘Essential elements of radical pair magnetosensitivity in Drosophila’ is available here

Photo credit: Anna Munro

Today, 30 June 2022, Understanding Animal Research (UAR) has published a list of the ten organisations that carry out the highest number of animal procedures – those used in medical, veterinary, and scientific research – in Great Britain. These statistics are freely available on the organisations’ websites as part of their ongoing commitment to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.

This list coincides with the publication of the Home Office’s report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2021.

These ten organisations carried out 1,496,006 procedures, 49% or nearly half of the 3,056,243 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2021*. Of these 1,496,006 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish and rats and 83% were classified as causing a similar level of pain, or less, as an injection.

The ten organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2021. Each organisation’s name links to its animal research webpage, which includes more detailed statistics. This is the seventh consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research.

63 organisations have published their 2021 animal research statistics

UAR has also produced a list  of 63 organisations in the UK that have publicly shared their 2021 animal research statistics. This includes organisations that carry out and/or fund animal research.

All organisations are committed to the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible; minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study. 

All organisations listed are signatories to the , a commitment to be more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. More than 125 organisations have signed the Concordat including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations.

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said:

“Animal research remains a small but vital part of the quest for new medicines, vaccines and treatments for humans and animals. We know that the majority of the British public accepts that animals are needed for this research, but it is important that organisations that use animals in research maintain the public’s trust in them.  By providing this level of information about the numbers of animals used, and the experience of those animals, as well as details of the medical breakthroughs that derive from this research, these Concordat signatories are helping the public to make up their own minds about how they feel about the use of animals in scientific research in Great Britain.”

Maria Kamper, Director of the Animal Research Unit at The University of Manchester said:

“We are proud to be one of the first UK institutions to embrace openness and transparency about our animal research. A virtual tour, facts, figures, project summaries and case studies, and lots more besides are freely available on our website.

“We are also proud of the high ethical standards with which we carry out our work and the way we care for our animals. Though we are strongly committed to replacing animals wherever possible with alternatives, reducing their numbers and refining the work we do to ever improve their welfare, animals still play a hugely important role in scientific research.

“Our research involving animals helps us understand how biological systems work so we can find ways to treat disease and understand not just human – but also animal health. That is why animal research remains a critical way for scientists to develop of new medicines and cutting-edge medical technologies.”

(UAR) is a not-for-profit organisation that explains how and why animals are used in scientific research in the UK. UAR promotes open communications about animal research. Further information on the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK can be found here

These figures refer to procedures using animals for medical, veterinary, or scientific research, as licensed by the UK’s Home Office under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The use of animals to test tobacco products was banned in the UK in 1997 and it has been illegal to use animals to test cosmetic products in this country since 1998. A policy ban on household product testing using animals was introduced in 2010. Since 2013, it has been illegal to sell or import cosmetics anywhere in the UK or the EU where the finished product or its ingredients have been tested on animals.

*The recorded 3,056,243 completed procedures in 2021, 1,496,006 (49%) of which were carried out at these ten organisations. 

Examples of severitySeverity assessments measure the harm experienced by an animal during a procedure. A procedure can be as mild as an injection, or as severe as an organ transplant. Severity assessments reflect the peak severity of the entire procedure and are classified into five different categories:

Sub-threshold: When a procedure did not cause suffering above the threshold for regulation, i.e. it was less than the level of pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm that is caused by inserting a hypodermic needle according to good veterinary practice.

Non-recovery: When the entire procedure takes place under general anaesthetic and the animal is humanely killed before waking up.

Mild: Any pain or suffering experienced was only slight or transitory and minor so that the animal returns to its normal state within a short period of time. For example, the equivalent of an injection or having a blood sample taken.

Moderate: The procedure caused a significant and easily detectable disturbance to an animal’s normal state, but this was not life threatening. For example, surgery carried out under general anaesthesia followed by painkillers during recovery.

Severe: The procedure caused a major departure from the animal’s usual state of health and well-being. This would usually include long-term disease processes where assistance with normal activities such as feeding and drinking were required, or where significant deficits in behaviours/activities persist. Animals found dead are commonly classified as severe as pre-mortality suffering often cannot be assessed.

The research published today in journal, , demonstrates that poaching combined with individual rhino’s reproductive variance, or how successful mums are at raising young, leads to a greater than first thought risk to the survival of the black rhino.

In the case of these rhino, reproductive variance increased extinction risk by as much as 70% when combined with poaching.

Within black rhino populations (and most likely in most animals), some individuals have more babies than others. This variation increases existing estimates of extinction risk, especially when there is poaching. This is because indiscriminate killing can lead to some of these important animals which contribute a greater number of offspring being removed.

Susanne Shultz, Professor of Evolutionary Ecology and conservation at The University of Manchester said: “Preventing population declines is a crucial step for stopping biodiversity loss. In this study, we identified how losing key rhinos can make small populations very vulnerable, which can help us design more effective conservation actions.”

“The new research is important because it shows that we may underestimate risk, or overestimate viability, if we do not recognise that some individuals contribute a lot more to the population and their loss will have a much bigger impact.”

Lead author on the work, Dr Nick Harvey Sky said: “This study shows that poaching has effects on rhinos beyond the death of targeted individuals. The deaths of healthy females that would have gone on to produce lots of calves can make whole populations more vulnerable to extinction.”

Estimating the extinction risk faced by different populations is vital for conservation. This can be affected by differences in breeding success between individual females (called reproductive skew), but reproductive skew is not often included in predictions of future population growth because it requires detailed individual breeding histories.

This information is available for the Critically Endangered eastern black rhino because of intensive monitoring to protect them from poaching. The University of Manchester has collaborated closely with Kenyan rhino managers, scientists and security teams who have meticulously recorded births and deaths for decades. Across three Kenyan populations of black rhinos on Lew Wildlife Conservancy, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy, the researchers found that there is significant variation in breeding success between females, with many females not breeding or doing so very slowly.

Dr John Jackson, Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford said: “For me, our study really highlights a deadly combination of small populations, individual differences, and poaching for vulnerable populations. When working in combination, these factors can completely reshape the fate of an endangered species.”

Crucially, variation in female breeding success can exacerbate the effects of poaching, especially on small populations. If key individuals, ones that breed very well, are killed then it can make the whole population more vulnerable to extinction. This highlights how important it is to protect rhinos from poaching. It may be possible to even out the variation in breeding success by creating new rhino reserves, moving rhinos between current reserves, or even creating more valuable habitat, but the causes of reproductive skew must first be identified. Differences between individuals in their contribution of young to at risk populations is likely an issue across many more species and should be evaluated when assessing their risk of extinction.

Arthropods, the group of animals that includes creepy crawlies like spiders and woodlice, are the largest phylum in the animal kingdom and are found everywhere from the deepest ocean trench to the top of Mount Everest.

shows the newest addition to the group is a 520-million-year-old (about 10 times as old as the dinosaurs) organism called Erratus sperare. Erratus sperare was discovered in the Chengjiang Fossil Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Yunnan, China. The Chengjiang Fossil Site preserves an ancient underwater ecosystem which included the relatives of some well-known arthropod fossils like trilobites and anomalocarids.

Modern water dwelling arthropods have biramous limbs, legs that have two parts – one for breathing and one for walking – but how such specialised limbs evolved was a mystery. Some of the earliest fossil arthropods, like Anomalocaris, had swimming flaps that may have doubled as gills, but until now researchers didn’t know how arthropods made the jump from these specialised flaps to the biramous limbs of modern arthropods.

Erratus sperare provides the missing link between arthropods that used such specialised flaps and arthropods with biramous limbs. It has both legs and flaps.

Dr David Legg, one of the authors of this study, said: “Fish aren’t the only organisms that have gills! Arthropods have gills too… they just have them on their legs. When it came to arthropods, however, we just weren’t sure where these gills came from.

“Thanks to this new fossil, Erratus sperare, we now have a much clearer idea. These gills also probably went on to evolve into the wings of insects and the lungs of terrestrial arthropods like spiders so were a very important innovation.”

The British Heart Foundation funded study, published today(2/09/21) in Circulation Research- the leading journal in its field - could have important implications on the management of the condition on humans.

In female sheep, the drug - also known as sildenafil - was able to suppress an arrythmia called Torsades de Pointes within 90 seconds by reducing the frequency of irregular heart rhythms caused by abnormal handling of calcium.

It also reduced the probability of Torsades de Pointes, which can lead to sudden cardiac death. However, the team believe the drug could treat other arrythmias as well.

Cardiac arrythmias often follow a heart attack, or result from heart disease. Though often benign , they can cause symptoms including palpitations, breathlessness, fainting and sometimes sudden death.

Treatments such as beta blockers and implantable defibrillators exist, though are not always effective.

Working on isolated sheep heart muscle cells known as myocytes, the research team were also able to measure their calcium stores- as well as their electrical properties.

Although calcium is a key driver of the heart’s pumping action, its overload can be a root cause of arrythmias. Viagra was able to suppress the mechanism in the cell which causes calcium overload.

When a small amount calcium enters a myocyte, it triggers the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR)- a calcium store - to release a larger quantity of calcium.

When there is heart disease, the SR can become overloaded with calcium which in turn makes the heart beat at the wrong time- when it is supposed to be resting between beats.

The mechanism is part of an  enzyme pathway inside the cell involving PDE5 and activating a protein called protein kinase G which impacts on the arteries in the penis allowing blood to pump into it.

A similar mechanism exists around the muscle cells of the heart but has never been studied until now.

Dr David Hutchings is a lecturer at The University of Manchester. The paper’s lead author said: “Not only has this study demonstrated that Viagra has a powerful antiarrhythmic effect on living heart tissue, our cell studies have also uncovered the mechanism by which this happens.

“Though we studied the effect in sheep, we believe this discovery is likely to be relevant humans: the humans heart is a similar size to a sheep’s, as is its anatomy and associated electrical circuitry.

“So this discovery could one day unleash the potential for effective treatment on what can be a devastating problem.

“Clearly, anyone who has a cardiac arrythmia should not self-medicate and should consult their GP for advice on current treatment options.”

Principal Investigator Professor Andrew Trafford, from The University of Manchester said: “This exciting study builds on our previous work funded by The British Heart Foundation around the effect of Viagra on the heart.

“In 2016, our study of patients with diabetes showed that incidental use of Viagra was linked with reduced heart attack risk and improved heart attack survival.

“In 2019, we found that Viagra can slow or even reverse the progression of heart failure in sheep and this work dramatically extends those important findings providing another tool with which to beat heart disease.

“Much more work still needs to be done- but we feel we are getting closer to a effective and powerful alternative to current treatments.”

Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “A better understanding of how heart rhythm disturbances occur could pave the way for better preventions and treatments for them.

“This study suggests that the enzyme PDE5, which is suppressed by Viagra, may also play a key role in causing abnormal heart rhythms that arise from an overload of calcium in sheep heart cells. This could be important because the electrical behaviour in these cells is similar to that of human heart cells.

“More research is needed, however, before Viagra and similar drugs can be repurposed for treating abnormal heart rhythms in patients.”

PDE5 inhibition suppresses ventricular arrhythmias by reducing SR Ca2+ content” is pub;ished in .

The Cruziohyla calcarifer, also known as the Splendid Tree Frog or Leaf Frog, originates from Ecuador and is extremely difficult to observe in the wild. Less than 50 adult specimens have ever been found, and five of its tadpoles are currently being housed at 91ֱ�� Museum.

Almost nothing has been known of the frogs’ breeding biology to date and a visual description of it in tadpole form has never existed.

Following captive breeding in Germany, an extensive piece of research led by Andrew Gray of Manchester Museum, which details of the tadpole’s unusual appearance, have now been published.

It is characterised in having a distinctive mouth shape and unusual markings.

Andrew Gray, Curator of Herpetology at 91ֱ�� Museum explained: “We’re delighted that we can now clearly visualise the tadpole of the Cruzihyla calcarifer for the first time ever. It has a couple of distinguishing features including what looks like the letter M on its back – so it’s very fitting that part of the research took place here in 91ֱ��!

“Once fully grown, the adult frog has black and orange flanks along the body, and a brilliant yellow surround to its beautiful grey eyes.

“This work represents a wonderful collaboration between a researcher from Germany, the museum in Paris, and a PHD student from The University of Manchester’s faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. It also exemplifies 91ֱ�� Museum’s mission to build understanding between cultures and a more sustainable world.”

This break-through follows another key scientific description at 91ֱ�� Museum, where a new species to science, Sylvia’s Leaf Frog was also described. The 91ֱ�� Museum was the first institution to breed that species, where the vivarium team recreate the exact conditions the frog enjoys in Costa Rica, Central America.

According to Daniel Ripley from The University of Manchester, higher temperatures reduce freeze response times which the animals employ to avoid being eaten by predators.

The study by the ecophysiologist is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and The University of Manchester’s Knowledge and Innovation hub for Environmental stability

It is published in the Journal of Conservation Physiology today (17 June).

If an embryo employs a freeze response, it stops moving so that predators - including large fish and other sharks - won’t detect them.

That explains why being able to elicit a freeze response is key to surviving predation during embryonic development – and the longer an embryo can freeze, the better chance it has of not being detected by predators.

In the lab Ripley compared the freeze response time of small spotted catshark embryos - which are 7 to 8cm long - at a water temperature of 15C and a water temperature of 20C.

The 5C temperature rise resulted in a 7-fold decrease in the time the animals froze following a predator simuli, mimicked by gently flicking the egg case

And that could have major consequences for embryonic sharks in a warming world. Being able to freeze is key to avoiding predators and if warming means infant sharks will not be able to freeze as long, it could reduce the number of sharks surviving to adulthood.

Around 45% of shark and ray species lay eggs which grow inside a mermaids purse, which can last for around a year before they hatch

The purses come in various colours, shapes and textures, depending on the species of shark.

Beachcombers often spot the empty shell cases on the beach, though the live egg cases often lie tangled up with sea weed in shallow waters and rockpools.

Daniel Ripley said: “This study has shown that many shark and ray species may reduce in number owing to increased predation as the oceans warm.

“It’s hard to say to say how exactly this will impact on the ocean ecosystem, but it’s fair to assume there will be a knock on effect; it’s a major problem which is likely to get worse.

“Many marine animals are cold blooded so rising sea temperatures have important consequences for them.”

He added: “It’s widely accepted that the worlds’ oceans are likely to warm in the next 100 years.

“And according to the US environmental protection agency, sea surface temperatures have been higher over the three previous decades than at any other time since 1880.

“So the impact of rising ocean temperatures could be catastrophic on species of egg-laying sharks and rays, such as the Brown banded bamboo shark or the Thornback ray.

“Shark embryos are already very vulnerable in their mermaids purses and our study suggests that one of their key survival strategies - freezing to hide from predators- may be significantly reduced by ocean warming.

“Some species are already threatened, and others, we simply don’t know enough about their numbers. But ocean warming may further harm their conservation and survival.”

“Ocean Warming Impairs the Predator Avoidance Behaviour of Elasmobranch Embryos” is published in the Journal of Conservation Physiology and an embargoed copy is available.

The video shows a freeze response in a living catshark embryo and was captured by Sara De Giorgio, one of the 3 undergraduate students working with Daniel Ripley.

University of Manchester scientists are at the forefront of the fight to protect cold water fish from the effects of crude oil spills from offshore oil rigs.

Dr Holly Shiels and PhD student Martins Ainerua are working off the coast of Norway with Dr Elin Sørhus of the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research to understand how the oil impacts on hearts of cod and halibut.

As the heart is the first organ to develop in fish larvae its good heath is crucial for survival of the animals into adulthood, say the team.

Two projects – known as ‘Eggtox’ - and ‘PW(produced water)exposed’, could provide vital information for oil companies who want to construct rigs in parts of the North Sea which are known to be key spawning grounds for these important fisheries.

The team also hope to understand the mechanisms of crude oil toxicity on the electrical and contractile properties of the fish heart.

They have been working in the electrophysiology lab at Austevoll station on the South West coast of Norway, investigating how various oil components affect the electrical activity of the juvenile cod and halibut hearts.

Dr Shiels said: “We know from disastrous crude oil spills like DeepWater Horizon, that components of oil negatively affects hearts of larval and juvenile fish.

"But it is possible the Produced Water used in oil drilling – which is released even in the absence of a spill - may impact fish stocks.

“And this is especially a worry in areas where drilling occurs in spawning grounds as the eggs and tiny larvae are unprotected.

“That is why are studying the impact of a single component of crude oil on the heart, and two of its metabolic derivatives.

“This is important work. A thorough understanding of cardiotoxicity will improve ecological risk assessments and environmental health monitoring.”

A new book published by University of Manchester historians shows that the much-loved St Bernard dog we know today was a Victorian invention.

According to the team, the St Bernard today bears very little resemblance to the rescue dogs of the Swiss monks who lived on the St Bernard Pass, from which they are said to be descended.

The leading champion of the new St Bernard, defining its physical form after introducing them to Britain was John Cumming Macdona, the colourful vicar of Mossley and then Cheadle, both now in Greater 91ֱ��.

Over half of the St Bernards in the first Kennel Club Studbook were from Macdona's kennel, including the Prince of Wales's 'Hope'.

As a show dog, its physical form was changed and standardised by Victorian breeders leading to inbreeding and health problems.

“The Invention of the Modern Dog” published this week by Johns Hopkins University Press, shows how Victorian dog lovers first raised concerns, challenging the breeders of fancy show dogs in ways that anticipated the concerns of modern animal welfare groups.

Robert Leighton, an authority on dogs, wrote in 1907 how breeding St Bernards as ‘show’ dogs turned them into ‘cripples’ because they were too tall and heavy and called for new conformation standards.

He wrote: “The St. Bernard is a purely manufactured animal, handsome in appearance certainly, but so cumbersome that he is scarcely able to raise a trot, let alone do any tracking in the snow.”

The rescue work of the dogs kept by the monks in the hospice on the St Bernard Pass had come to prominence in the early nineteenth century through stories of the heroism of a dog called Barry.

Then called Alpine Mastiffs, a painting by Edwin Landseer of two dogs ‘reanimating a traveller’ popularised the false idea that the dogs carried a barrel of brandy on their collar.

Barry supposedly saved over forty lives, and his taxidermied body was put on display in Bern, where it can still be seen today. However, Barry, was very different size, coat and colour from that adopted and favoured at British dog shows.

John Cumming Macdona imported dogs that were allegedly descendants of Barry, but his show dogs were large, brown, long-coated dogs.

“The St Bernard is emblematic of how dog breeds were created by Victorians. Macdona assumed that dogs of his favoured form would cope better with snow drifts, be easier to spot and would keep warmer,”. said co-author Professor Michael Worboys. “He then, likely, cross-bred to improve deficient features, and in-bred to preserve desirable ones.”

Co-author Prof Julie-Marie Strange said: “The first Kennel Club Stud Book in 1874 listed 40 breeds. Today there are 210. In some ways the St Bernard is unusual – there is still only one breed. But with others, fanciers have split and multiplied breeds. Take terriers; in 1874 there were 10, now there are 27.”

“Dogs were typical Victorian products. Manufactured, standardised types for different markets. One growing demand was for ladies dogs. These were not always toy breeds, large, elegant dogs like Borzois were also favoured.

“Women’s entry into the world of dog breeding and showing was resisted by self-styled “doggy men”, which led to the formation of the Ladies Kennel Association – a separate sphere with a different culture.”

And co-author Dr Neil Pemberton said: “Before the Victorians, there were no dog standardised breeds as such. Rather there were broad types of dog defined by what they did, not how they looked.

“And there was necessary variety within types. Hunting dogs were bred to suit different local environments, and people wanted pets that were unique individuals not clones.

The Invention of the Modern Dog is published by