HighLights
  1. Nobel Prize in Medicine 2026 awarded to three scientists.
  2. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel honoured for optogenetics.
  3. Revolutionary method uses light to control brain nerve cells.

Nobel Prize In Medicine 2026: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for their revolutionary discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute on Monday officially awarded the prize.

What Is Optogenetics?

According to a press release from the Nobel Prize Organisation, optogenetics is a scientific method that uses light to control nerve cells in the brain. It helps scientists understand how the brain controls memories, feelings, behaviours and body functions. The discovery by the three scientists is significant as for a long time scientists could see which parts of the brain were linked to certain activities. However, they could not clearly prove that a particular group of nerve cells actually caused a specific feeling or behaviour.

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The discovery of optogenetics has changed this by allowing scientists to turn selected nerve cells on or off using light and then observe what happens. “Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of,” said Per Svenningsson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine as quoted in the press release.

Who Are The Three Scientists?

Karl Deisseroth
According to the press release, born in 1971, Karl Deisseroth is an American scientist at Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He developed channelrhodopsin into a practical tool for controlling nerve cells with light. His work helped bring optogenetics into the study of the living brain.

Peter Hegemann
Born in 1954, Peter Hegemann is a German scientist at Humboldt University of Berlin. He studied how single-celled algae sense light. The press release states that his research helped lead to the discovery of channelrhodopsin, the light-sensitive protein that became the basis of optogenetics.

Georg Nagel
Born in 1953, Georg Nagel is a German scientist at the University of Wurzburg. He helped discover and understand channelrhodopsin and showed how its light-sensitive properties could be used in other cells.

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