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Nobel medicine prize: how an algae protein became a light switch for brain cells

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 medicine prize for optogenetics, which lets researchers switch chosen nerve cells on and off with light.

By Rullik14 October 20263 min read

Electron microscope image of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the alga in which channelrhodopsin was found

Cover image: Photo: Dartmouth Electron Microscope Facility, Dartmouth College / Wikimedia Commons (public domain), cropped

Headline Nobel medicine prize: how an algae protein became a light switch for brain cells.

Standfirst Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 medicine prize for optogenetics, which lets researchers switch chosen nerve cells on and off with light.

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Rullik

Clear, sourced explainers on Australia and the world

Rullik is the pen name of the founder of Australia Illuminate (Auslume). Rullik writes plain-language explainers on life in Australia, from immigration, study and work to money, sport and screen culture, always linking to the official sources behind each story. Every story is reviewed before publication.