New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- The 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three pioneers of optogenetics, the science of controlling body cells with light. By granting researchers control of biological processes with extraordinary precision, their work marked a profound shift in therapeutic exploration.

Such advances are of special value to India, which has been laying its own foundation for precision therapy through the Genome India Project and has so far sequenced more than 10,000 genomes that represent 83 diverse populations.

While gene studies can identify a genetic defect, the field of optogenetics uses light to control how specific cells behave. As a biological tool, it can map and modulate cells that rely on electrical signals or ion ...