A new Swedish study has found that the immune system of birds is related to the climate in which they live. As climate change accelerates, some birds may be unable to cope with emerging diseases because their immune systems "cannot keep up".         

   Researchers from Lund University in Sweden recently published a paper in the Journal of biology branch of royal society, which found that the diversity of genes related to the immune system of a species is related to its climate environment. In the long-term evolution process, many birds' immune systems have completed precise "adjustment", enabling them to "calmly" deal with diseases in specific environment and climate. At the same time, rapid climate change will bring challenges to these "tailor-made" immune systems. The evolution speed of the immune system may not be able to keep up with the pace of climate change, resulting in many animals unable to cope with the changes in the number and type of pathogens they will be exposed to. Northern Europe, for example, is becoming warmer and wetter, and there may be diseases that did not exist before, posing a threat to some animals.

Source: People's daily