creation's tiny compasses (reprint)

Creation's Tiny Compasses
by Kim Guthrie

I can find my way! I don’t need any help to find the trail!” I exclaimed as I headed up the mountain. But after my guide left, one glacier looked just like another, and I was lost in the wilderness! This was just one of the many times my sense of direction, or lack of it, got me in trouble. I almost invariably turn in the opposite direction that I should go. That’s why, when I heard about the world’s smallest compasses, I was totally amazed These tiny compasses were discovered by Richard P. Blakemore in 1975. As he was studying some of the cultures he had grown from some foul-smelling mud, he noticed some of the bacterium behaving in a strange way. No matter what environmental conditions he put the little bacterium in, they would always swim northward in the water! Could it be that these little bacterium were able to sense magnetic north? Blakemore placed a bar magnet near the slide and, sure enough, the bacteria changed direction! Wow! This opened up a whole new field of study in which it was found that other organisms such as algae, insects, slugs and pigeons also use sophisticated magnetic compasses.

Why on earth would tiny bacterium need the ability to find their way? If you were a tiny bacteria swimming underwater, it could be hard to tell which way was up. Things like surface tension could really be confusing and you might end up swimming the wrong way.

For these little critters, it’s a matter of life or death. They cannot handle very much oxygen so they need their direction-finding ability to swim down into the sediments and away from highly-oxygenated environments. What an amazing solution to the problem of “which way is up!” This incredible design for even the smallest of creatures points to an all-knowing and creative Designer! Blakemore’s discovery of these exquisitely designed compass creatures opens yet another window that we can look through to see our Creator’s handiwork. Now, if only I could get one of those built in compasses...

**Kim Guthrie was an intern at AOI and is using her creation training to further her camp ministry in Texas. Thanks Kim, for a great article!