Nobel Prize in medicine goes to three scientists who found a light switch for brain cells

The press release is dated Oct. 5, 2026. The official schedule said the prize would be announced Monday, Oct. 5, at 11:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time at the earliest, which is 5:30 a.m. Eastern. The release carries a date and no clock time.

Deisseroth, born 1971, is at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University. Hegemann, born 1954, is at Humboldt University of Berlin. The prize-winning work was done at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried. Nagel, born 1953, is at the University of Würzburg. His prize-winning work was done at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in Frankfurt. The three share 12 million Swedish kronor equally.

The citation is “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.” Hegemann and Nagel found that the algal protein opens a channel when blue light hits it, and that cells they put the protein into became sensitive to light. Deisseroth put the gene into nerve cells from rats and, with blue light, triggered a nerve signal. He published that in 2005. Two years later the switch worked in the brains of living mice.

Per Svenningsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, said: “Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of.”

The release says researchers are using the method “in attempts to restore sight in people with visual impairment.” That is research. It is not an approved treatment.