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You probably know how to see the brightness and colour of light - but did you realise your clever eyeball can see a mysterious third property of light?

Scientists have revealed that humans can actually see a phenomenon called "polarised light" better than most other creatures.

To find polarised light, you should look out for an effect called "Haidinger's brushes".

"You can see Haidinger's brushes if you look at a blank white portion of an LCD screen on a computer, tablet or phone," said Dr Shelby Temple from the University of Bristol, who conducted research into polarised light.

"Tilt your head from side to side and faint yellow brushes should become visible."

Although the effect quickly fades, it can be maintained by rotating the eye around the primary visual axis relative to the light field - in other words, by tilting the head.

Humans are surprisingly good at detecting polarised light, something most commonly associated with bees and other insects, as well as octopuses and cuttlefish.

Dr Temple's subjects were able to detect the third property of light more effectively than any other vertebrate.

Far back in our past it may have provided us with a navigational aid, but today it could point towards new methods of screening people at risk of age-related macular degeneration - a leading cause of blindness.

(Image: Alex Mustard/2020VISION / Rex)

Polarised light consists of light waves that are oscillating in a particular direction, much like a skipping rope being shaken up and down or from side-to-side.

Some animals, especially invertebrates, employ polarised light to navigate, find water, detect prey or predators, or for communication.

Dr Temple's new evidence suggests that humans use it too - or at least our ancestors did.

An ability to identify the position of the sun in the sky by recognising polarised light might once have helped humans to navigate, the researchers speculated.

This would have been especially useful in northern latitudes where the twilight period, when the sun is below the horizon but the stars are still not visible, is particularly long.