The Science Behind the Nobel-Winning Technology That Controls Neurons With Light

Optogenetics revolutionized neuroscience, but its origins come from an entirely brainless organism--an alga. Nobel Committee Secretary General Thomas Perlmann speaks to the media about this year's laureates--Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel--during the announcement of the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Karolinska Institute awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine to researchers Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University in Berlin, and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzburg. Their discoveries led to the development of optogenetics, a technique where scientists can turn individual nerve cells on or off using beams of light. According to Per Svenningsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Medicine, "Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of."