Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel win the Nobel prize for medicine. The Karolinska Institute in Sweden announces this. The 3 researchers develop Opto-Genetik. This is a new research method. Researchers control brain cells with light beams.
Hegemann and Nagel study a green algae. This algae swims to the light. It has a switch made of protein. Blue light hits the switch. Current flows into the cell. The researchers put this switch into other cells. These cells react to light now.
Karl Deisseroth uses this technique for nerve cells. He puts the algae switch into the brain of mice. He switches nerve signals on and off with light. Researchers all over the world use this technique today. They want to understand diseases like Alzheimer better.
Opto-Genetik helps sick people soon. Researchers hope for help for blind people. Georg Nagel hears about his luck in Italy. He celebrates the prize with his family and a pizza. The 3 researchers share a prize money of about 1 million Euro.
