Nobel Prize in Biomedicine awarded to three founders of optogenetics

The winner of the Nobel Prize in Biomedicine was announced on the 5th. The award is shared by American scholar Karl Deisseroth and German scholars Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel. The Nobel Prize Committee in Physiology or Medicine praised the "Optogenetics" pioneered and developed by three scholars for opening a new scientific page in understanding the operation of the human brain, achieving an achievement that "in the past could only be realized in dreams."

Breaking new ground in understanding how the brain works

The official Nobel press release stated that in the 20th century, when science was booming, researchers began to explore the connections between brain parts and functions. However, the research methods used at that time did not allow researchers to verify the causal relationship. It was like a map full of question marks and unknowns, with only a rough outline drawn. Now, optogenetics is giving scientists a glimpse into how nerve cells form memories, emotions and behavior inside the brain.

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Laying the foundation for the development of neuroscience

In this groundbreaking scientific process, Hedgman and Nagel discovered a special protein called "channelrhodopsin" in single-cell algae; Deisseroth transformed the light-sensitive channel protein into a medium that can control nerve cells with light, laying the foundation for the development of a new era of neuroscience.

Optogenetics originated from Hedgman's curiosity to understand the properties of the single-celled algae Chlamydomonas that gravitate toward light sources. In early 2000, he and Nagel discovered light-sensitive channel proteins on the surface of cells. When illuminated with blue light, a channel opens, allowing charged ions to flow into the cells and generate electrical pulses. The pair found that the light-sensitive channel protein produced light-sensitive properties no matter what cell it was placed in.

Following the lead, Deisseroth introduced the gene for the light-sensitive channel protein into the nerve cells of mice and irradiated them with blue light to trigger nerve signals. Deisseroth published this major research result in 2005, and two years later, he further enabled light-controlled switches to function in the brains of living mice.

Trying to restore functionality to visually impaired people

In short, "optogenetics" is a scientific method that uses light to control neural signals. This tool quickly had a global impact. The researchers were able to uncover the neural circuits that govern specific memories, emotions and behaviors in the nervous system and psychiatric disorders. In clinical medicine, researchers are using this method to try to restore the visual function of visually impaired people.

Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Prize Committee in Physiology or Medicine, announced the good news to the three scholars via phone. The three will share a prize of approximately 12 million Swedish krona (approximately NT$37.9 million).