On October 5, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries behind optogenetics and light-gated ion channels.
Hegemann and Nagel identified channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein in algae. Deisseroth later introduced its gene into nerve cells, showing that blue light could trigger a signal, and extended the technique to living mice.
Optogenetics now helps researchers study which brain circuits are involved in memory, feelings and behavior. The Nobel release says scientists are also investigating possible uses in research on neurological conditions and sight restoration; it is a research method, not an established treatment.
