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Unusual three-way bestows magnetic sense to single-celled organism

How do microorganisms orient themselves to find the optimal habitat? Scientists have thoroughly investigated so-called magnetotactic bacteria, which use the Earth's magnetic field as a biological compass. Some eukaryotic single-celled organisms—that is, more complex organisms like ciliates, which, unlike bacteria, have a cell nucleus—also possess this capability. But how they acquire it has largely remained a puzzle.