India, Oct. 5 -- Peter Hegemann is a German biophysicist whose decades-long research into light-sensitive proteins in microorganisms helped lay the scientific foundation for optogenetics, a technique that allows researchers to control the activity of cells, particularly nerve cells, using light. On October 5, 2026, Hegemann was named one of the three recipients of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, alongside American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German scientist Georg Nagel.

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet recognised the scientists for discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and their use in developing optogenetics. The research has become an important tool in neuroscience because it allows scientists to...