Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel – awarded the 2026 medicine prize – discovered a remarkable protein, channelrhodopsin, in a single-celled alga.
Hegemann wondered how Chlamydomonas, a single-celled alga, is able to swim towards a light source. In the early 2000s, he and Georg Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, an algal protein with unique properties, found on the surface of the cell. When it is illuminated by blue light, a channel opens through the protein. Charged ions then flow into the cell, creating an electrical impulse. They found that regardless of which cell they put the protein in, those cells became light sensitive.
#NobelPrize
BREAKING NEWS
The 2026 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”
Tu Youyou became the first mainland Chinese scientist to be awarded a #NobelPrize in a scientific field - for discovering artemisinin, a malaria cure that’s saved millions. Today we reveal the 2026 medicine laureate. Stay tuned.
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On Wednesday’s International #TranslationDay, we thank all language professionals whose work helps bring people & nations together.
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إن استهداف وقتل المرشد الأعلى الإيراني لأمر ينتهك سيادة إيران وأمنها بشكل خطير، ويدوس مقاصد ومبادئ ميثاق الأمم المتحدة والقواعد الأساسية للعلاقات الدولية، إذ يعرب الجانب الصيني عن رفضه القاطع وإدانته الشديدة لذلك. نحث على وقف العمليات العسكرية فورا وتفادي التصعيد المستمر للوضع المتوتر، والعمل سويا على صيانة السلام والاستقرار في الشرق الأوسط والعالم.