2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Groundbreaking Optogenetics Research

Guwahati: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel and Karl Deisseroth for their pioneering work on optogenetics, a technique that has transformed the study of the brain.

Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein found in a single-celled alga. Their research showed how the protein responds to blue light by opening a channel that allows charged particles to enter cells, generating an electrical signal.

Deisseroth later developed the discovery into a powerful tool for controlling nerve cells. In 2005, he introduced the gene responsible for channelrhodopsin into rat nerve cells and demonstrated that blue light could trigger nerve signals. Two years later, he successfully used the technique in the brains of living mice.

Known as optogenetics, the method allows scientists to activate or silence specific groups of nerve cells using light. It has helped researchers investigate how brain circuits influence memory, emotions and behaviour, while also improving understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

The Nobel Committee said the breakthrough had fundamentally changed neuroscience and opened new avenues for studying the human brain.

The three laureates will share a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor.

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