The technology allows researchers to measure magnetic-field changes around the brain while a baby sits under what looks like a beauty-salon hair dryer.

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This could pave the way for ultrasensitve sensors that can detect minute changes in magnetic fields and gravity.

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Shock waves from the impact would travel through the planet and disrupt the crust on the other side, causing changes in the magnetic field recorded there.

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The predicted changes are consistent with observations of magnetic anomalies in the southern hemisphere, according to Dr Nimmo.

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They may cause local changes in the direction of the magnetic field, confusing pigeons that use it to find their way home.

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One new technique being used by some neuroeconomists is transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which a coil held next to the head issues a low-level magnetic pulse that temporarily disrupts activity in a certain part of the brain, to see if that changes the subject's preferences for example, for a particular food and how much he is willing to pay for it.

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