Rome, Oct. 5 (LaPresse) – Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm announced it. This year’s laureates will receive a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to just over 1 million euros. The three scientists were awarded the prize for their discoveries related to ion channels and optogenetics. “Understanding how the brain forms memories, emotions and behaviors has long been a dream for researchers. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discoveries that led to optogenetics, a technique that makes it possible to switch the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain on or off. This method is now used in laboratories around the world to unlock the mysteries of the brain,” the Nobel Academy explained.
Nobel: 2026 Medicine Prize to Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel
Rome, Oct. 5 (LaPresse) – Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm announced it. This year’s laureates will receive a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to just over 1 million euros. The three scientists were awarded the prize for their discoveries related to ion channels and optogenetics. “Understanding how the brain forms memories, emotions and behaviors has long been a dream for researchers. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discoveries that led to optogenetics, a technique that makes it possible to switch the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain on or off. This method is now used in laboratories around the world to unlock the mysteries of the brain,” the Nobel Academy explained.