Nobel Assembly awards 2026 medicine prize to technique’s developers
The Nobel Committee on Monday described emerging medical applications of optogenetics — including ongoing clinical trials to restore vision in people blinded by retinitis pigmentosa — as “the first steps” toward medical treatments. The Karolinska Institute’s Nobel Assembly awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for developing the technique, a method that uses light to control brain cells. Their research has helped scientists learn more about the inner workings of the brain, to better understand how the human mind works.
In one ongoing trial, a patient blinded by retinitis pigmentosa regained some vision when wearing light-emitting glasses, according to BBC reporting. Researchers inserted a special protein in the damaged region of the eye; the glasses switched on the therapeutic algae proteins.
The Assembly said optogenetics has “fundamentally altered our understanding of the brain” and that “every day brings new discoveries, helping to solve one of humanity’s great mysteries: how our incredible brain works.” The Nobel Committee praised the trio for laying the foundation of a new era in neuroscience by revealing how to switch on and off neural circuits behind “specific memories, feelings, and behaviours relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders.”
“Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of,” said Per Svenningsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Before the technique’s development, the inner workings behind feelings, behaviours and bodily functions were more of a mystery to scientists.
Optogenetics works by borrowing a special protein from algae — channelrhodopsin — that generates electrical activity when exposed to light. Scientists insert the protein into nerve cells, then shine light on those cells to turn them on or off with precision. In the early 2000s, Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin in algae and identified its unusual light-sensitive properties. Deisseroth later worked out how to use the light-controlled protein to switch on nerve cells in the brains of mice, a step that made it possible to study mammalian neurons. Researchers have since been able to study nerve cells and pathways in animals to see and discover more about what they do.
The Nobel Committee said: “Using light, researchers are now able to switch individual neural circuits on or off in the brain. They can bring memories to life, create feelings, drive behaviours and study the types of neurons that are involved in various psychiatric and neurological disorders.” The approach is providing important insights into how the nervous system interacts with various cells in other areas of the body, such as in the heart and gut, the committee added.
The winners said it was “absolutely wonderful” to receive the award and called it an honour to share the accolade with friends. The three men will share 12 million Swedish kronor — about £900,000 — in prize money.