Cryptochrome proteins are thought to function as magnetoreceptors supporting navigation of migratory birds. The radical-pair hypothesis suggests that the avian cryptochrome hosts photochemically generated radical pairs which undergo either spin recombination or formation of the photoproduct with yields depending on the orientation of the cryptochrome in the geomagnetic field. The results of theoretical simulations will be presented, which show how the high sensitivity of the radical-pair based magnetoreceptor to the field direction relates to the properties of individual radicals.

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