Chronic Infection Shortens Lives and Telomeres in Birds (2 of 9) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Chronic Infection Shortens Lives and Telomeres in Birds (2 of 9)

Caption

A great reed warbler warning from the top of the reeds at an intruder visiting the nest. Great reed warblers are very aggressive at the nest when chicks have hatched. The parents may even hit the head of a human when visiting their nest. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Jan. 23, 2015, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by M. Asghar at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, Bulgaria, and colleagues was titled, "Hidden costs of infection: Chronic malaria accelerates telomere degradation and senescence in wild birds."

Credit

[Credit: William Velmala]

Usage Restrictions

Please cite the owner of the material when publishing. This material may be freely used by reporters as part of news coverage, with proper attribution. Non-reporters must contact <i>Science</i> for permission.

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.