Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded on Monday to US psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their pioneering work in optogenetics.
The laureates were selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and will share a prize sum of 12 million Swedish crowns. The announcement was made in Stockholm.
Optogenetics is a technique that allows scientists to switch individual nerve cells on or off in a living brain. By doing so, researchers can see how the brain controls memories, feelings and behaviour. The method uses light-sensitive proteins, originally found in algae, to control the activity of selected neurons with beams of light, giving scientists a level of precision that earlier tools could not offer.
That precision has made the technique valuable for studying conditions of the brain and mind. By activating or silencing specific circuits, researchers can test which networks drive particular behaviours or symptoms, an approach that has been used to explore disorders such as depression, anxiety, addiction and Parkinson’s disease in laboratory studies. The work has also shaped how neuroscientists think about the brain as a set of interacting circuits rather than a single organ.
The medicine prize traditionally opens the annual Nobel announcements. Awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will follow over the coming days, with the peace prize usually drawing the widest global attention.
For students and researchers across India, including those in Kashmir’s universities and medical institutions, the award is a reminder of how basic research on algae and light-sensitive molecules can end up transforming biomedical science. It also highlights the value of collaboration between scientists from different countries and disciplines, as this year’s recognition goes to a team spanning the United States and Germany.
As the Nobel season gets under way, the optogenetics award sets a high bar for the announcements that follow.
