What whales reveal about high blood pressure - lecture by Professor Mike Althaus

The bioscientist took his audience on a journey into the past - from the oldest ancestor of multicellular animal organisms around 600 million years ago to modern humans - and explained why salt is so important for human physiology. "Our taste for salt probably arose when our vertebrate ancestors colonised the land and had to perceive salt through chemical senses to maintain their salt balance," explained Althaus. "Conversely, there are vertebrates that moved from land to water later in evolution. Their descendants, such as whales, presumably no longer need the chemical senses in seawater." Althaus was able to prove this by analysing whale DNA. A look at the animal kingdom shows how organisms have adapted to new habitats over the course of evolution and enables research into the taste of salt in humans and the causes of high blood pressure. The so-called ion channels, which are responsible for physiological processes in the human body, play an important role here.

Mike Althaus let a model of an ion channel created in the 3D printer pass through the rows and jokingly added: "It's my last copy, which I would like to get back".

Bonn Science Night takes place every two years

The lecture took place as part of the Bonn Science Night, which has been presenting exciting results from research and science and inviting dialogue every two years since the year 2000. The event is organised by the city of Bonn in cooperation with the districts of Rhein-Sieg and Ahrweiler and the University of Bonn. Universities from the region, such as H-BRS, are regular participants.

At the end of Professor Althaus' informative and stimulating lecture, everyone had an idea of why salt is so important for us humans and knew that too much salt in the body can lead to high blood pressure. And the bioscientist also received his illustrative model of an ion channel back.