Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to trio for work on Optogenetics

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 has been jointly awarded to three scientists: Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel. Their research has enabled scientists to switch individual nerve cells on or off in living brains, offering unprecedented insight into how neural circuits shape memory, emotion, and behaviour.

The prize recognises a method that makes it possible to show how nerve cells shape memories, feelings and behaviours in the living brain. The Nobel committee described the discovery as ushering in a new era in neuroscience, giving researchers worldwide a tool to probe the brain’s inner workings with remarkable precision.

The breakthrough traces back to Hegemann’s early research into how a single-celled green alga swims toward light. Hegemann and Nagel discovered a remarkable protein—channelrhodopsin—in this single-celled alga, which opens a channel that generates an electrical impulse when exposed to light. Introducing this protein into other cells renders them light-sensitive. Deisseroth later took this discovery further, engineering a light-controlled switch for nerve cells in the brains of living mice, laying the foundation for optogenetics as it is used today.

Since 1901, a total of 117 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have now been awarded. This year’s prize carries a cash award of 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately USD 1.2 million), to be shared equally among the three laureates.

The Medicine Prize traditionally opens Nobel Week, with the Physics, Chemistry, and Literature Prizes to follow in the coming days. The Peace Prize is set to be announced on Friday. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will close out the week’s announcements on October 12.