Announcement in Stockholm: Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Two German Optogeneticists

 

„The Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to two Germans, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, and US researcher Karl Deisseroth. They are being honored for their discoveries in the field of optogenetics.

 

This year, the Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to two Germans, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, and US researcher Karl Deisseroth. Hegemann conducts research at Humboldt University in Berlin, while Nagel works at the University of Würzburg. The Nobel Committee in Stockholm announced the decision on Monday afternoon.

 

They are being recognized for their discoveries in the field of optogenetics, a technique that combines methods from optics and genetics to stimulate individual neurons non-invasively.

 

The Nobel Committee explained that the technique demonstrates "how nerve cells in the brain shape memories, feelings, and behaviors." "This method is used today in laboratories around the world to unlock the secrets of the brain."

 

Last year, three researchers from the US and Japan were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their insights into the body's control of the immune system.

 

This week, the Nobel Prizes for Physics (Oct. 6), Chemistry (Oct. 7), Literature (Oct. 8), and Peace (Oct. 9) will also be announced, followed next Monday by the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences (Oct. 12). The latter has only been awarded since 1969 and is the only prize not established by the Swedish industrialist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.

 

This year, the coveted awards carry a prize of twelve million Swedish kronor—equivalent to around one million euros—per category. They will be presented in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the founder Alfred Nobel's death. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded 125 years ago. According to the Nobel Foundation, a total of 633 prizes have been awarded to date to 990 individuals—including 68 women—and 28 organizations; some recipients received the award more than once.“