2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to three experts in optogenetics

Sweden's Karolinska Institutet announced on the 5th that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be awarded to Professor Karl Deisseroth (54) of Stanford University in the US, Professor Peter Hegemann (71) of Germany's Humboldt University, and Professor Georg Nagel (73) of Germany's University of Würzburg, who developed a technology that can freely switch the activity of targeted nerve cells simply by shining light on them.

This technique, called optogenetics, is used to identify neural circuits in the brain that are involved in memory, behavior, and disease.

Professor Hagemann and Professor Nagel noticed that when single-celled green algae swim toward light, they react within a short time after sensing it. In the early 2000s, researchers discovered that green algae cells contain a protein that immediately generates electrical signals when they receive light, and named it channelrhodopsin.

In 2005, Professor Deisseroth introduced the gene that makes this protein into rat nerve cells. By irradiating them with blue light, they succeeded in intentionally inducing neural activity. In 2007, they succeeded in using optical fibers to shine light on specific neural circuits in the brains of living mice, turning them on and off, and intentionally changing their behavior and emotions.

These technologies are being used to help determine which neural circuit abnormalities are causing neurological diseases, and are also being used to develop treatments aimed at restoring the sight of visually impaired people.

The award ceremony will be held in Stockholm on December 10th. The prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately 180 million yen) will be divided into three equal parts.