Nobel medicine prize honours US and German scientists for optogenetics work
Scientists Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in optogenetics. This field uses light to control nerve cell activity, offering new insights into brain function.
Why it matters
Optogenetics is a transformative tool in neuroscience that allows researchers to map brain activity with unprecedented precision, potentially leading to breakthroughs in treating neurological conditions.
The winners of the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced in the week.
x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Karl Deisseroth, one of the three scientists to win the 2026 Nobel Prize in medicine, talks on his mobile at home on October 5, 2026, Stanford, California, US [Noah Berger/AP Photo] By Al Jazeera Staff , AFP and Reuters Published On 5 Oct 2026 5 Oct 2026 American scientist Karl Deisseroth and Germans Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their pioneering discoveries on light and optogenetics that have helped understand how the brain works.
The Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute medical university said on Monday that Deisseroth, 54, Hegemann, 71, and Nagel, 73, were honoured “for their discovery of a molecular switch for nerve cells”.
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9 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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