The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University of Berlin and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzburg. They were honoured for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive ion channel that opens rapidly when exposed to light. Deisseroth introduced its gene into nerve cells and showed that blue light could trigger a nerve signal, later making the switch work in the brains of living mice.
The method lets researchers turn individual neurons on or off and test cause and effect in brain circuits. The three share the 12 million Swedish kronor prize (about US$1.2 million) equally.