WIREDSECURITYPOLITICSTHE BIG STORYBUSINESSSCIENCECULTUREREVIEWSPrime DayMenuWIREDAccountAccountNewslettersSecurityPoliticsThe Big StoryBusinessScienceCultureReviewsChevronMoreExpandThe Big InterviewMagazineEventsWIRED InsiderWIRED ConsultingNewslettersPodcastsVideoLivestreamsWIRED StoreSearchSearchFernanda GonzálezScienceOct 7, 2026 4:40 PMThe Science Behind the Nobel-Winning Technology That Controls Neurons With LightOptogenetics 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.Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyThe 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 tu...
WIREDSECURITYPOLITICSTHE BIG STORYBUSINESSSCIENCECULTUREREVIEWSPrime DayMenuWIREDAccountAccountNewslettersSecurityPoliticsThe Big StoryBusinessScienceCultureReviewsChevronMoreExpandThe Big InterviewMagazineEventsWIRED InsiderWIRED ConsultingNewslettersPodcastsVideoLivestreamsWIRED StoreSearchSearchFernanda GonzálezScienceOct 7, 2026 4:40 PMThe Science Behind the Nobel-Winning Technology That Controls Neurons With LightOptogenetics 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.Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyThe 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 tu...
