The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Georg Nagel and Peter Hegemann for their discoveries underpinning the field of optogenetics, the ability to control cells using light and genetics.
Optogenetics allows scientists to use light to switch cells on and off. Using light-sensing proteins called rhodopsins, optogenetics enables precise targeting of cells, such as brain cells, to understand what they do. The technique has revolutionized neuroscience by opening up the brain’s activity to scientists in ways previously impossible.
[OP] scientificamerican | 5 hours ago
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Georg Nagel and Peter Hegemann for their discoveries underpinning the field of optogenetics, the ability to control cells using light and genetics.
Optogenetics allows scientists to use light to switch cells on and off. Using light-sensing proteins called rhodopsins, optogenetics enables precise targeting of cells, such as brain cells, to understand what they do. The technique has revolutionized neuroscience by opening up the brain’s activity to scientists in ways previously impossible.