German and US scientists win Nobel Prize in medicine

The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine 2026 has gone to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, the academy announced on Monday. The trio won the award for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The award for medicine is the first Nobel prize to be awarded this week, with laureates set to be named in physics, chemistry, literature and peace in the days up to Friday. Last year's prize was awarded jointly to Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell of the United States and Shimun Sakaguchi of Japan for "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance." The prizes will be presented at ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden on December 10.