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Bacterium found to have strange magnetic personality Researchers led by an MIT graduate student have discovered a bacterium that is a magnetic misfit of sorts. Magnetotactic bacteria contain chains of magnetic iron minerals that allow them to orient in the Earth's magnetic field, like living compass needles. These bacteria have long been observed to respond to high oxygen levels in the lab by swimming toward geomagnetic north in the Northern Hemisphere and geomagnetic south in the Southern Hemisphere.
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