Nobel medicine prize honours US and German scientists for optogenetics work

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkKarl 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 ReutersPublished On 5 Oct 20265 Oct 2026American 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”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘I want to cry’: Afghan medical students in Pakistan face expulsion fearlist 2 of 4The story of a book in Gaza: A treasured possession given new lease of lifelist 3 of 4HIV prevention drug hailed as breakthrough, but who gets access?list 4 of 4UN experts say Belarus justice system used to target Lukashenko opponentsend of listOptogenetics involves controlling nerve signals with light, and helps researchers understand how specific cell types contribute to behaviours like learning, fear, addiction and movement.“Optogenetics has fundamentally altered our understanding of the brain. Every day brings new discoveries, helping to solve one of humanity’s great mysteries: how our incredible brain works,” the Nobel Assembly said.Thomas Perlmann, the secretary-general of the ⁠Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute, added that optogenetics “makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain”.“This method is now being used in laboratories around the world to reveal the brain’s mysteries,” Perlmann added.“Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of,” Per Svenningsson, chair of the Nobel committee, said in a statement.Researchers also hope optogenetics could improve cochlear implants, allowing more precise stimulation of the auditory nerve than current electrical devices.Deisseroth, 54, is a professor at Stanford University in the US, while Hegemann, 71, is a neuroscience professor at Humboldt University of Berlin. Nagel, 73, is a biophysics professor at the University of Wurzburg. The three of them will share a prize sum amounting to 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2m).“All three said the same thing: that they ⁠thought it was absolutely wonderful to receive the prize with the other two who they call their friends – that it’s such an honour to receive the prize together,” Perlmann said.Nobel laureates are chosen by expert committees appointed by the prize-awarding institutions. The physiology or medicine prize traditionally opens the annual Nobel announcements, with the Nobel Prize for physics announced on Tuesday, followed by the chemistry prize on Wednesday and the literature prize on Thursday.But perhaps the most keenly anticipated award is that due on Friday, the peace prize – the only Nobel to be awarded in Oslo. Experts have suggested the jury could choose a laureate this year who enjoys broad consensus, after last year’s controversial winner, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.Laureates receive their awards on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death, in ceremonies attended by Sweden’s and Norway’s royal families, with banquets held in their honour.