Overview

• The Paul Ehrlich-Stiftung announced the 2026 laureates on September 16, crediting the discovery as a turning point in modern genetics.
• The prize carries €120,000 and is traditionally awarded on March 14 at Frankfurt’s Paulskirche.
• Early mouse experiments showed embryos with only maternal or only paternal genomes failed, leading to the concept of parent-of-origin gene control called genomic imprinting.
• Imprinting uses epigenetic marks to keep one allele active and the other silent, the marks are reset in eggs and sperm, and errors are linked to cancer and neurological disorders.
• Ongoing work builds on the field, with researchers in China recently reported to have produced a mouse from two sperm by altering imprinting.