We’re back nerds! This morning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Karl Deisseroth of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzburg, Germany for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
I don’t understand a darn thing about this, so I’m just quoting from the press release:
“Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel discovered a remarkable protein, channelrhodopsin, in a single-celled alga. Karl Deisseroth transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells.
“This method for controlling nerve signals with light is now called optogenetics, and it has rapidly gained global impact. Using optogenetics, researchers have been able to reveal neural circuits governing specific memories, feelings, and behaviours relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders. In clinical medicine, researchers are using the method in attempts to restore sight in people with visual impairment.”
Tomorrow: Physics!
