Nobel Prize in Medicine 2026: Optogenetics Pioneers Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel Win
The Winners
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University of Berlin and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzburg, “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”
What Is Optogenetics?
Optogenetics lets scientists switch the activity of individual nerve cells on or off in a living brain using light. Light-sensitive proteins adapted from microbes are placed in specific neurons, so a pulse of light can activate or silence them within milliseconds.
Why It Matters
The technique allows researchers to study how specific brain circuits drive behaviour in living animals, helping decode the brain’s mysteries.
Nobel Week
The Nobel announcements continue through the week with the other prizes in the coming days.
Sourced from NobelPrize.org, CNN and HHMI announcements, 5 October 2026.
