For canaries, just seeing their feathered friends get sick may be enough to preemptively rev up their immune systems.
“It’s fascinating that some sort of visual cue could alter immune function,” says Ashley Love, a disease ecologist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Precisely how much these alterations actually protect the birds remains unclear, she says.
Immune systems are like sentinels, patrolling the body for invaders and calling in the cavalry once a pathogen is detected. Traditionally, pathogens have to actually get into bodies to spur that sort of response.
But some research has previously hinted that perceived threats can whip up immune cells.
“It’s fascinating that some sort of visual cue could alter immune function,” says Ashley Love, a disease ecologist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Precisely how much these alterations actually protect the birds remains unclear, she says.
Immune systems are like sentinels, patrolling the body for invaders and calling in the cavalry once a pathogen is detected. Traditionally, pathogens have to actually get into bodies to spur that sort of response.
But some research has previously hinted that perceived threats can whip up immune cells.
