Nobel Prize 2026: Medicine award goes to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel

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Sweden: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.

The announcement was made by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet on Monday.

Their work laid the foundation for optogenetics, a method that uses light to control nerve cells and has allowed scientists to study how specific brain circuits shape memories, feelings and behaviours.

Optogenetics is a biotechnology that allows scientists to control the activity of specific living cells using light. The technique combines genetic engineering with optics: researchers introduce genes that make selected cells produce light-sensitive proteins, known as opsins, and then use precisely controlled light to activate or silence those cells.

The breakthrough began with Hegemann and Nagel’s work on a single-celled alga called Chlamydomonas.

They discovered a protein called channelrhodopsin on the surface of the alga. When exposed to blue light, the protein opens a channel through which charged particles flow, creating an electrical signal.

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Deisseroth then introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin into rat nerve cells.

By shining blue light on them, he could trigger a nerve signal. He published the breakthrough in 2005 and, two years later, demonstrated that the light-controlled switch could work in the brains of living mice.

The technique became known as optogenetics.

Understanding the brain requires scientists to determine how individual neurons and larger networks interact. Traditional techniques can sometimes affect large groups of cells, making it difficult to identify the precise contribution of individual neurons or specific circuits.

Optogenetics offered a new level of control. Researchers could target particular populations of neurons and manipulate their activity using light, making it possible to investigate links between neural activity and behaviour.

The technique has subsequently been used extensively in neuroscience research, including studies of brain circuits involved in processes such as movement, sleep, learning and behaviour.

Also Read: 2025 Nobel Prize In Economics Goes To Mokyr, Aghion And Howitt

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