Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for developing optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control neural activity.
Key facts
- •Optogenetics allows scientists to establish direct cause-and-effect relationships between neural activity and behavior.
- •When exposed to blue light, channelrhodopsin channels open in 0.2 milliseconds to generate an electrical impulse.
- •The Nobel Committee described the discovery as the foundation for a new era in neuroscience.
- •Karl Deisseroth is a psychiatrist and professor at Stanford University.
- •Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel conducted their foundational research in Germany.
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced on Monday that Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The trio was honored for their pioneering work in optogenetics, a method that allows scientists to control specific cells using light. This technique, which enables researchers to switch neurons on or off in living brains, is considered a significant advancement in neuroscience.
By the numbers
Development of Optogenetics
The foundation for optogenetics began when Peter Hegemann studied the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas to understand how it responds to light. Together with Georg Nagel at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Hegemann identified light-sensitive proteins called channelrhodopsins. They demonstrated that these proteins act as light-controlled ion channels by inserting algal genes into frog egg cells and human kidney cells. Karl Deisseroth later expanded the technique by introducing the channelrhodopsin gene into rat nerve cells and eventually into the brains of living mice. This allowed researchers to trigger nerve signals and influence behaviors, such as whisker movement, by shining blue light on targeted cells.
Nobel Announcement and Personal Impact
Deisseroth, a 54-year-old psychiatrist and Stanford University professor, received the news of his Nobel Prize early Monday morning. Despite the international recognition, he maintained his daily routine, including preparing school lunches for his children at his home in Stanford. Deisseroth, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, noted that his work as a physician-scientist is driven by a desire to help patients with conditions such as autism and depression.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Euronews Health, Phys.org.
