We are delighted that this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine recognizes a field that is also directly connected to our research and teaching in “Optics & Lasers” at the Institute of Biomedical Optics: optogenetics.
The Nobel Prize goes to Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel, and Karl Deisseroth for their pioneering work on the light-controlled manipulation of nerve cells. Their research has demonstrated how the activity of specific cells can be precisely switched on and off using light-sensitive proteins.
Optogenetics impressively combines optics, photonics, and biomedicine, making it an excellent example of how fundamental research on light and its interaction with biological tissue can open up entirely new possibilities in the life sciences and medicine.
