A bacterium's built-in compass, explained: Single-cell magnetometry confirms Earth-field alignment

Phys.org

February 17, 2026

Some bacterial species possess an astonishing ability: They use Earth's magnetic field to orient themselves. To better understand this mechanism, the team led by Argovia-Professor Martino Poggio from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel took a closer look at the "magnetotactic" bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense.