这些复杂的试验包括观察光进入鸟的眼睛的过程，科学界在这方面已经研究了30余年。
In the late 1970s, the physicist Klaus Schulten concluded that birds navigate by relying on geomagnetically sensitive biochemical reactions in their eyes.
在20世纪70年代晚期，物理学家克劳斯 舒尔腾得出结论说，鸟类依靠眼睛内能够感应地磁的生物化学反应来导航。
Tests have shown that the special cells in the eye carry out this function using the protein cryptochrome.
测试表明，眼睛内部某些特别的细胞在蛋白隐色素的作用下能够实现这一功能。
Professor Reppert's team used wild fruit flies and replaced their version of cryptochrome with the human equivalent then put them in a mazewith each wing wrapped in a metal coil.
里珀特教授的研究团队把野生果蝇眼内的蛋白隐色素换成人类的蛋白隐色素，然后将果蝇放在一个迷宫中，每只翅膀都用金属丝包裹起来。
They then sent a current through it so that the coil was magnetised in a way which mimicked Earth's electromagnetic field.
然后他们将电流导入金属丝，这样金属丝就有了磁性，就像地球的电磁场一样。
The flies responded in exactly the same way as if they had their own cryptochrome, by either avoiding the magnetic fields or moving towards them if the researchers had placed sugar nearby.
果蝇做出的反应就像自己的蛋白隐色素没被换过一样，既能够避开磁场，也能够飞向研究人员放了糖的磁场附近。
The new study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
这一新研究发表在《自然通讯》杂志上。