US-German Trio Wins Nobel Medicine Prize for Breakthroughs in Brain Research

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded Monday to US psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their pioneering work in optogenetics, a field that has transformed scientists’ understanding of the brain.

Optogenetics enables researchers to investigate how specific types of cells influence behaviours such as learning, fear, addiction and movement. The technique could eventually contribute to treatments for neurological and sensory disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. The Nobel Assembly said the method has allowed scientists to identify neural circuits linked to specific memories, emotions and behaviours associated with neurological and psychiatric conditions.

Researchers are also exploring clinical applications of optogenetics, including efforts to restore vision in people with visual impairments.

“Optogenetics has fundamentally altered our understanding of the brain,” the Nobel Assembly said, adding that ongoing discoveries using the technique are helping address one of humanity’s greatest scientific questions: how the brain functions.

Last year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to US scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell and Japan’s Shimon Sakaguchi for discoveries explaining how the immune system is regulated by identifying its protective “security guards”.

This year’s laureates will receive a diploma, gold medal and $1.2 million prize at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel in 1896. King Carl XVI Gustaf will present the awards.

Physics Prize Tuesday

The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced Tuesday.

British physicist Sir John Pendry and US physicist David Smith, pioneers in the development of the “invisibility cloak” concept, have for years been considered potential recipients. Their work demonstrated how engineered metamaterials can manipulate electromagnetic waves and bend them around objects, potentially making them invisible.

The Chemistry Prize will be announced Wednesday, followed by the Literature Prize on Thursday.

For literature, some observers believe the Swedish Academy could follow last year’s selection of Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai by honouring a woman writer, possibly from Central or Latin America.

Argentine writer Samanta Schweblin, 48, has been cited as a possible contender by literary critic Lina Kalmteg, according to AFP.

Other names frequently mentioned in Nobel speculation include Antiguan-American writer Jamaica Kincaid, Chinese author Can Xue, Australian writers Gerald Murnane and Alexis Wright, US novelist Thomas Pynchon and Mexican author Cristina Rivera Garza.

All Eyes on the Peace Prize

The most closely watched award may be the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced Friday and is the only Nobel awarded in Oslo.

Some experts believe the committee could seek a broadly accepted laureate this year following last year’s controversial choice of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

US President Donald Trump campaigned heavily for the prize last year, while Machado later gave him her Nobel medal. The committee is expected to remain under scrutiny as speculation continues over this year’s winner.

“There’s always a lot of lobbying, and ultimately perhaps also attempts to exert pressure on the committee,” Nobel committee secretary Kristian Berg Harpviken told AFP, adding that the organisation was “very used to that”.

Potential candidates include a joint award for Save the Children and Ukrainian children’s rights activist Mykola Kuleba, who has campaigned for the return of Ukrainian children allegedly taken to Russia from occupied territories.

Other possible recipients include Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms (ERR), a large volunteer network providing assistance to people caught between war and hunger, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), following what was described as the deadliest year on record for journalists in 2025.

The Nobel season will conclude on October 12 with the announcement of the economics prize.