Three scientists have been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine in recognition of their significant research into how individual nerve cells in the brain activate and deactivate. The laureates are Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel.
The names of this year’s Nobel laureates in Medicine were announced on Monday (October 5) from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. This marks the beginning of this year’s Nobel Prize announcements, according to the Associated Press (AP).
AP reported that Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel conducted research on light-controlled ion channels and ‘optogenetics’. Their research has led to the development of a new method to control and observe the activity of specific nerve cells using light.
The Nobel Committee lauded their research, stating that this method is currently being used in various laboratories worldwide to unravel the mysteries of the brain.
54-year-old Karl Deisseroth works at Stanford University in California, USA. 71-year-old Peter Hegemann conducts research at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, and 73-year-old Georg Nagel is researching at Würzburg University in Germany.
Thomas Perlmann, Secretary of the Nobel Committee for Medicine, stated that he was able to contact all three laureates by telephone on Monday.
This year, the prize money for the Nobel Prize is 12 million Swedish Kronor, which is approximately equivalent to 1.2 million US dollars. The prize money remains the same whether awarded to an individual, multiple winners, or an organization.
With the announcement of the Medicine prize, Nobel Week has commenced. The Nobel laureates in Physics will be announced on Tuesday, Chemistry on Wednesday, and Literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, followed by the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on October 12.
AP reported that last year, three scientists who researched the immune system received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.