The Earth’s magnetic field may influence how cells produce energy, physical performance and even lifespan, according to new research from the University of Nottingham.
In a study using fruit flies, researchers found that shielding flies from the Earth’s magnetic field altered mitochondrial function, lifespan and physical performance - with strikingly different effects depending on the health of the flies’ mitochondria.
The findings, published in the journal Aging , offer new insight into how this invisible environmental force may interact with fundamental biological processes, with potential implications for our understanding of ageing and neurodegenerative disease. The study was led by Professor Lisa Chakrabarti and Jacob Reed from the University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine & Science.
Professor Chakrabarti said: “We live our entire lives within the Earth’s magnetic field. It passes through our bodies, our cells and every living organism on the planet, yet we know surprisingly little about whether and how this invisible force affects the way our cells work.
“Our results raise the intriguing possibility that the Earth’s magnetic field forms part of the biological environment to which life has adapted throughout evolution. Understanding how cells sense and respond to magnetic fields could ultimately reveal new ways of manipulating mitochondrial function in ageing and disease.”
The research team investigated what happens when the Earth’s magnetic field is almost completely removed. Using a specially designed magnetic shielding system, they reduced the magnetic field surrounding fruit flies to near zero. They compared healthy flies with flies carrying a defect in Pink1 , a gene associated with inherited early-onset Parkinson’s disease in humans.
The effects were striking. Shielding the Pink1 flies from the Earth’s magnetic field increased their lifespan by around 20%, although their physical performance declined. Healthy flies responded quite differently, though their health span was affected their movement improved.
The researchers traced these effects to mitochondria - the tiny structures inside cells responsible for generating much of the energy required for life. Mitochondrial energy metabolism changed when the magnetic field was reduced, as did levels of superoxide, a highly reactive molecule produced by mitochondria. The team detected these changes using both high-resolution measurements of mitochondrial respiration and highly sensitive quantum sensors that exploit tiny defects within diamonds.
These experiments show that the magnetic environment surrounding an organism can influence fundamental biological processes including energy production, physical performance and lifespan.
Crucially, the effects were not simply “good” or “bad”. The same change in magnetic environment produced very different outcomes depending on the underlying health of the mitochondria, suggesting that an organism’s metabolic state determines how it responds to changes in magnetic field strength.
Doctoral candidate Jacob Reed added: “Research in this area is sparse, focusing mainly on how migrating animals sense magnetic fields, or on preparing humans for space travel. Yet we still know very little about why all living organisms need or don’t need a magnetic field to function normally in the first place. This project brought expertise from physics, engineering and biology to study fruit flies with novel, highly specialised techniques and equipment; to not only look at physiology but pathology too. It opens a potential new avenue for a non-invasive, mitochondria-targeted approaches that many diseases have been longing for. Hopefully, emphasising that magnetic fields are fundamental to life beyond certain scientific niches.”
Aging-US
Experimental study
Animals
Hypomagnetic fields modulate lifespan, physical ability and mitochondrial metabolism in a Pink1 model of neurodegeneration
23-Sep-2026