The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for developing optogenetics. This technique uses light to control nerve cells, helping scientists study brain activity. By using a light-sensitive protein from alga, researchers can now switch specific neurons on or off easily.
The Tribune Editorial: The breakthrough began with a light-sensitive protein found in a single-celled alga
THE 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries that have given scientists a new way to study the brain. Their work led to optogenetics -- a technique that uses light to control selected nerve cells. The idea is easier to understand than the name suggests. The brain contains billions of nerve cells, or neurons, which communicate through electrical and chemical signals. To understand how the brain controls movement, memory, emotions and behaviour, scientists need to know what particular groups of neurons do. This was difficult because earlier techniques could observe brain activity but could not control individual cells precisely.
The breakthrough began with a light-sensitive protein found in a single-celled alga. Scientists studied how the protein responds to light and eventually adapted the discovery to make neurons sensitive to light. Researchers could then switch selected nerve cells on or off and observe what happened. The significance of the technique is profound. Instead of merely observing that a part of the brain was active during an action or emotion, scientists could test whether activating or silencing particular cells actually caused that response. They could work to test how particular nerve cells make things happen. This has opened new ways of understanding how the brain works.The discovery is also a striking demonstration of how basic scientific research can lead to unexpected breakthroughs. A light-sensitive protein in a tiny alga, studied to understand how the organism responds to light, eventually became a powerful tool for investigating one of nature's greatest mysteries: the human brain. The Nobel, therefore, recognises a new way of asking questions about the brain. Optogenetics has opened a new window and further exploration could reveal much more about how the brain works.