Nobel prize in physiology or medicine awarded for lighting up the field of neuroscience Proteomic studies, billion dollar pharma deals, WHO initiatives, and more led the news this week. Brought to you byDDN editorial team

Nobel prize in physiology or medicine awarded for lighting up the field of neuroscience Proteomic studies, billion dollar pharma deals, WHO initiatives, and more led the news this week. Brought to you byDDN editorial team https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/nobel-prize-in-physiology-or-medicine-awarded-for-lighting-up-the-field-of-neuroscience-17580 The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University, and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzburg “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics,” according to the press release. In the early 2000s, Hegemann and Nagel discovered the channelrhodopsin protein in a single-cell alga, which is activated by blue light. Then, in 2005, Deisseroth published work showing that inserting the channelrhodopsin gene into the brain cells of rats also activated these cells, triggering action potentials. The breakthrough offered neuroscientists an unprecedented view of the intricate and precise behavior of neural circuits. In the statement from the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute, the team wrote, “The Laureates have laid the foundation of a new era in neuroscience.” – Allison Whitten