The first Nobel laureates this year have been announced
Today, Nobel Week began — the announcement of this year's laureates. The first laureates to be announced are in medicine and physiology.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to American Karl Deisseroth, as well as Germans Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries related to light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, the Nobel Committee reports.
Scientists have created a 'remote control' for living cellular structures. They took a light-sensitive gene from common algae and learned to embed it into brain neurons, causing these cells to react to laser flashes. Previously, science could only stimulate the brain with an electric current, which was like trying to play the piano with a fist — everything was activated indiscriminately.
The optogenetics method allows for precise action: scientists can shine a laser on a specific cell, instantly 'turning on' or 'turning off' its function. This discovery already helps restore vision to blind people and develop treatments for severe diseases such as Parkinsonism, epilepsy, and major depression.
The works they cite use LOTIS TII equipment, which is produced in Minsk on Kastryčnickaja Street.
Tomorrow, the Nobel laureate in Physics will be named, and on Wednesday, in Chemistry.
On Thursday, the Nobel laureate in Literature will be named, and on Friday — the Peace Prize.