Optogenetics trio wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been

awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels

and optogenetics.

The prize was announced at the Nobel Assembly at

Sweden's Karolinska Institute.

The three scientists' work hones in on the

mechanisms the brain uses to switch on,

or off, the activity of individual nerve cells.

The trio will share the 1.2 million-US-dollar prize.

Among the three prize winners,  Hegemann and Nagel

had previously won the Shaw Prize in Life Science and

Medicine in 2020 for their pioneering work in

developing optogenetics.