Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann & Georg Nagel

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. "They discovered a remarkable protein, channelrhodopsin, in a single-celled alga. Deisseroth transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells," the press release said.