The 2026 Nobel Prize announcements are currently taking place from October 5 to 12, 2026. The first prize was announced on Monday, October 5, with the remaining categories scheduled throughout the week. American Karl Deisseroth and Germans Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries on light and optogenetics that have helped understand how the brain works.
The Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institute medical university said Deisseroth, 54, Hegemann, 71, and Nagel, 73, were selected for their "discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics." Optogenetics "makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain," said Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet.
In clinical trials, researchers are restoring vision to people blinded by a condition called retinitis pigmentosa by inserting a light-sensitive protein in the retina. Researchers also hope optogenetics could improve cochlea implants, allowing more precise stimulation of the auditory nerve than current electrical devices. This breakthrough has opened up new avenues for treating various neurological disorders.
The physiology or medicine prize traditionally opens the annual Nobel announcements, with awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics to follow over the coming days. Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel will share a prize sum amounting to 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million). Their work has paved the way for further research in the field of neuroscience.
In the early 1990s, Hegemann investigated how the alga Chlamydomonas reacts to light in half a millisecond. He hypothesised that a single protein captured light and acted as an ion channel. Nagel tested this by injecting Chlamydomonas genes into frog eggs, discovering channelrhodopsin-2—an ion channel that opens when exposed to light.
Perlmann said he had talked to all three laureates this morning, and that they were surprised and delighted. "All three said the same thing, that they thought it was absolutely wonderful to receive the prize with the other two and they call them my friends. That it's such an honour to receive them together," Perlmann said. The laureates' collaboration and friendship have been instrumental in advancing the field of optogenetics.
The Nobel Prizes have been awarded since 1901, with only limited interruptions, chiefly during World War One and World War Two. The medicine prize has honoured some of the most influential scientific discoveries of the past century, including Alexander Fleming's work on penicillin, recognised in 1945, and Karl Landsteiner, who won in 1930 for his discovery of human blood groups.
Key points
- The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for their discoveries on light and optogenetics.
- Optogenetics has the potential to improve treatments for various neurological disorders, including restoring vision to people blinded by retinitis pigmentosa.
- The Nobel Prizes have a long history, dating back to 1901, and have honoured many influential scientific discoveries.
