This is a pic from the lab space used by the group working on the paleomagnetic signature in the cores. The small cubed-shape samples of the core are first wrapped in those shiny wrappers and passed through the Superconducting Rock Magnetometer (SRM) in the back, which measures the remanent magnetism in three directions. i.e., the permanent magnetism present in a rock before any treatment. This information is related to the time when the rock was formed, and can be used to help develop an age model for the cores. Eric has told me that if you put a fly through this machine it will measure the magnetic material in the fly. This type of machine can measure at the nanogram scale, e.g., it is used to measure the remanent magnetism in shark’s brains, which you can imagine is very small.