Scientific Committee
Appears in 2 stories · Last updated Oct 9, 2026
As of October 2026: Awarded the 2026 prize
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to three scientists who built a way to switch individual nerve cells on and off with light. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel share the 12 million Swedish kronor prize for optogenetics.
Updated Oct 8
As of May 2026: Awards Medicine Prize annually
The Nobel Assembly kicked off October 2025 by awarding the Medicine Prize to three scientists who discovered the immune system's off-switch—regulatory T cells controlled by the Foxp3 gene. Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell identified the gene in 2001 while studying scurfy mice that died from autoimmune storms. Shimon Sakaguchi had already discovered the cells themselves in 1995. Together, their work explained why our immune systems don't destroy us and opened the door to treatments for everything from diabetes to lupus.
Updated May 19
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