{
  "id": 12275594,
  "title": "U.S. and German scientists win Nobel Price in medicine for discoveries on optogenetics",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/u-s-and-german-scientists-win-nobel-price-in-medicine-for-discoveries",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-06T01:36:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CBS News",
    "slug": "cbs-news",
    "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/video/american-germans-win-nobel-medicine-prize-discoveries-optogenetics/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to three scientists for their work on optogenetics. Karl Deisseroth, an American neuroscientist and psychiatrist, and two German scientists, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, were recognised for their discoveries. According to The Indian Express, Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a protein that enables the microscopic alga Chlamydomonas to react to light, while Deisseroth used it to develop a \"light switch\" that can control nerve cells.\n\nTheir work has led to a new era in neuroscience, allowing researchers to study the brain and understand how it processes information. As VnExpress International reports, the tool uses light to help unravel how the brain works. This technique, known as optogenetics, uses light to control neuronal activity, enabling neuroscientists to manipulate what neurons do millisecond by millisecond.\n\nThe discoveries have shed light on neural pathways that could once only be guessed at, and researchers have been able to identify the precise circuits that control functions such as feelings, memory, and consciousness. According to CBS News, the breakthrough could reshape how we study the brain and understand its functions.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Colombia One",
        "title": "2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine Honors Scientists Who Made Optogenetics Possible",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/2026-nobel-prize-in-medicine-honors-scientists-who-made-optogenetics",
        "published": "2026-10-05T19:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}