Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel win Nobel 2026 in medicine
Nobel Prize 2026: Three scientists win the Medicine Nobel for pioneering optogenetics, which has transformed how researchers study the living brain.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth of the US, Peter Hegemann of Germany, and Georg Nagel of Germany for their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. This groundbreaking research has transformed how scientists can study nerve cells by using light to control their activity.
Optogenetics, a technique that combines genetics with light, allows researchers to switch on or off the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain, providing unprecedented precision in studying brain function and its disorders.
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