American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German researchers Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for pioneering work in optogenetics.
The Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet recognised the trio for discoveries involving light-gated ion channels and the development of optogenetics, a technique that allows scientists to control individual nerve cells using light.
Hegemann and Nagel discovered the light-sensitive protein channelrhodopsin in a single-celled green alga during research in the early 2000s. The protein responds to blue light by opening a channel that allows charged particles to enter cells and generate electrical impulses.
Deisseroth later introduced the gene responsible for channelrhodopsin into nerve cells. By exposing those cells to light, researchers were able to activate neural signals with exceptional precision. He subsequently demonstrated that the technique could control nerve cells inside living mice.
The approach became known as optogenetics and has transformed modern neuroscience. Researchers can now switch specific groups of neurons on or off and study their roles in memory, emotions, movement and behaviour.
The technique has also provided new insights into neurological and psychiatric conditions, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, addiction and dementia. Scientists are additionally exploring its potential to restore sight in people suffering from certain forms of visual impairment.
The three laureates will share a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, worth about $1.2 million. The award ceremony is scheduled for December 10 in Stockholm.
The Nobel Committee said optogenetics has fundamentally changed scientists’ understanding of how the brain functions and opened new possibilities for future medical research.
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