2026 Nobel Medicine Prize Honors Optogenetics Pioneers Who Switch Brain Cells With Light
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded Monday in Stockholm to American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced.
Optogenetics turns a light-sensitive protein first studied in algae into a switch for nerve cells. By shining light on genetically targeted neurons, researchers can turn specific brain circuits on or off in a living brain and map how those circuits drive learning, fear, addiction, movement, and other behaviors. The method is now used in laboratories worldwide and is being explored for restoring sight and improving cochlear implants.
The three laureates will share 12 million Swedish crowns, about $1.2 million. The medicine prize traditionally opens Nobel season, with physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and economics awards to follow in the coming days. (Sources: Reuters and the Nobel Assembly.)
Source: 路透社、诺贝尔奖委员会
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2026年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖得主之一、光遗传学先驱卡尔·代瑟罗思（Karl Deisseroth）。摄影：Christopher Michel，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
