STOCKHOLM: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded on Monday to three scientists for their research into how the brain controls the activity of individual nerve cells.
Karl Deisseroth, 54, Peter Hegemann, 71, and Georg Nagel, 73, were recognised for their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control nerve cell activity. The scientists are based at universities in the United States and Germany.
The Nobel Prize is one of the world’s most prestigious awards. It is given each year to people or organisations that have made important contributions to humanity.
BREAKING NEWS
The 2026 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.” https://t.co/pkDDEBWtkz— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2026
The prize was established by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, scientist and businessman, through his will in 1895.
The Nobel committee praised the work of Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel, saying the method is now being used in laboratories around the world to help researchers investigate the brain.
Deisseroth is based at Stanford University in California, while Hegemann works at Humboldt University in Berlin and Nagel at the University of Würzburg in Germany.
This year’s medicine laureate Karl Deisseroth transformed the protein channelrhodopsin into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells.
Deisseroth introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin into nerve cells from rats. By illuminating the cells with blue light, he was able to trigger a nerve signal. He published this breakthrough in 2005. Two years later, he made this light-controlled switch for nerve cells work in the brains of living mice.
#NobelPrize
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2026
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, said he had managed to reach all three laureates by telephone on Monday.
The prize was announced at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, marking the start of Nobel Week. Last year, the medicine prize was awarded to three scientists for research into the immune system.
The medicine award is followed by the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday.
ALSO READ: Nobel Prize Money Rises to Record 12 Million Kronor in 2026
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, while the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is due to be announced on October 12.
The prize carries an award of 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to about $1.2 million, which can be shared among individuals, a group of laureates or an organisation.
