Study suggests mole rats are stressed by a nearly absent magnetic field

24 Oct 2026BIOLOGY & NATURENEEDS REVIEWUpdated: 24 Oct 2026, 21:52 JST

A preprint study reports that Ansell's mole rats reacted strongly when researchers reduced the surrounding magnetic field to about 2 percent of Earth's field intensity at the German test site. Rather than appearing neutral, the near-zero field was associated with greater activity in brain regions linked to stress, anxiety, and fear, and the animals reportedly avoided an object placed in the low-field section of a track.

Study suggests mole rats are stressed by a nearly absent magnetic field

Removing a normally constant magnetic signal

The odd part is that removing a constant environmental signal, rather than adding a new one, appeared to be the strongest stimulus. The researchers say it may mean the animals perceive the absence of Earth's magnetic field as aversive. How mole rats sense magnetic fields remains unresolved, and the study is available as a preprint rather than a peer-reviewed paper.

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