诺贝尔医学奖在斯德哥尔摩揭晓：光遗传学三位先驱分享1200万克朗
10月5日（周一），卡罗林斯卡学院诺贝尔大会在斯德哥尔摩宣布，2026年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖授予美国科学家卡尔·戴斯罗特（Karl Deisseroth）、德国科学家彼得·黑格曼（Peter Hegemann）和格奥尔格·纳格尔（Georg Nagel），以表彰他们关于光门控离子通道与光遗传学的发现。医学奖由此拉开今年诺贝尔奖公布周的序幕。
三位获奖者将分享1200万瑞典克朗奖金。戴斯罗特54岁，任职于斯坦福大学和霍华德·休斯医学研究所；黑格曼71岁，任职于柏林洪堡大学；纳格尔73岁，任职于维尔茨堡大学。
光遗传学利用对光敏感的蛋白质来控制细胞活动。黑格曼与纳格尔在一种单细胞藻类中发现了名为通道视紫红质的光控蛋白，它受光时如同离子通道一样打开。2005年，戴斯罗特把这种蛋白的基因导入神经细胞，证明可以用光脉冲精确地开关单个神经元的活动。诺贝尔大会表示，这一方法使开关活体大脑中单个神经细胞的活动成为可能，如今已被世界各地的实验室用于解析大脑回路。
据法国《世界报》报道，这项技术的应用不止于基础研究：2021年，一名因视网膜色素变性失明的患者借助光遗传学疗法部分恢复了视力。这项技术也被用于研究记忆、情绪与行为背后的神经机制。
诺贝尔奖依瑞典发明家阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔的遗嘱设立，自1901年起颁发，医学奖由卡罗林斯卡学院的诺贝尔大会评定。本周内还将陆续公布物理学、化学、文学与和平奖，各奖项的颁奖典礼定于12月10日、即诺贝尔逝世纪念日，在斯德哥尔摩举行。
来源：卡罗林斯卡学院诺贝尔大会公告、路透社、法国《世界报》，2026年10月5日。
Nobel Medicine Prize Announced in Stockholm: Three Optogenetics Pioneers Share 12 Million Kronor
On Monday, October 5, the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet announced in Stockholm that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine had been awarded to American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The medicine prize traditionally opens the annual Nobel announcement week.
The three laureates will share a prize sum of 12 million Swedish kronor. Deisseroth, 54, works at Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Hegemann, 71, is at Humboldt University of Berlin; and Nagel, 73, is at the University of Würzburg.
Optogenetics uses light-sensitive proteins to control the activity of cells. Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a light-controlled protein in a single-celled alga that opens like an ion channel when exposed to light. In 2005, Deisseroth introduced the protein's gene into nerve cells and showed that individual neurons could be switched on and off with pulses of light. The award-giving body said the method makes it possible to switch the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain, and it is now used in laboratories around the world to map brain circuits.
According to Le Monde, the technique has also reached clinical exploration: in 2021, a blind patient with retinitis pigmentosa partially regained vision through an optogenetic treatment. The method is likewise used to study the neural mechanisms behind memory, emotion and behaviour.
The Nobel Prizes were created under the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901; the medicine prize is decided by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet. Prizes in physics, chemistry, literature and peace follow this week, and the awards will be presented in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
Sources: Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet announcement, Reuters and Le Monde, October 5, 2026.
图片来源：卡罗林斯卡学院医学礼堂（Aula Medica），诺贝尔生理学或医学奖在此宣布。摄影：I99pema，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
