Overview
- The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awarded the 2026 Physiology or Medicine Prize to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026.
- Hegemann and Nagel identified light‑gated ion channels called channelrhodopsins in algae and Deisseroth adapted their genes so neurons could be activated or silenced with light.
- Optogenetics gives scientists millisecond‑scale, cell‑type specific control of neural circuits and has become a standard research tool for studying memory, emotion, sleep and disease.
- Industry is translating the method into therapies for inherited blindness, with several companies running trials and regulators accepting a biologics licence application for an optogenetic candidate in September 2026.
- The three laureates will equally share 12 million Swedish kronor and experts say the Nobel both honors foundational lab work and highlights growing but still early clinical applications that face technical and delivery challenges.