The 2026 Nobel Prize: Light, Between the Brain and the Cosmos
Optical spectrometry analyses light to reveal the properties of matter. In optogenetics, choosing the right wavelength makes it possible to activate or inhibit cells that produce light-sensitive proteins. Across these fields, the spectrum becomes a meeting point for physics, biology and technology.
The 2026 Nobel Prizes highlight two remarkable uses of light: exploring the brain’s neural circuits and detecting cosmic neutrinos through light signals produced in Antarctic ice. Two perspectives driven by the same curiosity: how can we observe what lies beyond our sight?
Nature
A Nobel Prize for Optogenetics
Miryam Naddaf and Ewen Callaway
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine honours Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries that made it possible to control neuronal activity with light.
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A Nobel Prize for Cosmic Neutrinos
Elizabeth Gibney and Davide Castelvecchi
The 2026 physics Nobel recognises Francis Halzen’s pivotal role in IceCube and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from space, opening a new way to investigate the Universe.
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What a prism teaches about collaboration
White light contains every colour at once. It takes a piece of shaped glass to make that visible — and a second prism to bring it back together.
Notes towards a shared language between disciplines
Interdisciplinary work often fails on vocabulary before it fails on ideas. A short note on practical ways to prevent that.