The Nobel Prize awarding body announced today, Monday, that scientists Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel have won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2026 "for their discoveries related to light-controlled ion channels and optogenetics."

The Nobel Association at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden selected American Karl Deisseroth (54 years old), German Peter Hegemann (71 years old), and German Georg Nagel (73 years old) to receive the prize, and they will share a sum of 12 million Swedish kronor (1.2 million dollars) in the case of multiple winners.

The awarding body stated that optogenetics "allows the activation or inhibition of individual nerve cells within the living brain," adding, "This method is now used in laboratories around the world to uncover the secrets of the brain."

The Nobel Prize in Medicine is usually the first of the Nobel Prizes announced annually, followed by the prizes for physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and economics in the coming days.

The original five Nobel Prizes were established by the will of the inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901 with only limited interruptions, particularly during the two World Wars. A sixth prize, the Prize in Economic Sciences, was introduced in 1968 by the Swedish central bank (Riksbank).

The Nobel Prize in Medicine has honored some of the most significant scientific discoveries of the past century, including Alexander Fleming's work on penicillin, which won the prize in 1945, and Karl Landsteiner, who received it in 1930 for discovering human blood groups.

Last year, the prize was awarded to American scientists Mary Bronk and Fred Ramsdell, and Japanese Shimon Sakaguchi for their work highlighting how the immune system avoids attacking healthy cells, opening new possibilities for potential treatments for diseases such as cancer.

Nobel Prize winners are selected by expert committees appointed by the awarding institutions, and the prizes are presented in Stockholm, except for the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, a tradition often linked to the union that existed between Sweden and Norway during Alfred Nobel's lifetime.

More than 125 years after Nobel signed his will, the prizes still retain many of their established traditions.

The celebrations culminate on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death, when the winners receive their prizes in ceremonies attended by the royal families of Sweden and Norway, celebrated in official parties held in their honor.