Two Nobel medicine laureates for optogenetics worked at Max Planck institutes
In short
Two of the three winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine spent key years at Max Planck institutes in Germany, the Max Planck Society said after Sweden's Karolinska Institute named the laureates for work that founded optogenetics. Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University Berlin and Georg Nagel of Würzburg University led research at Max Planck biochemistry and biophysics institutes before moving to their current posts. The award rests on the discovery of channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein in single-celled green algae.
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The Nobel Committee at Sweden's Karolinska Institute named the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work that founded optogenetics, with Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University Berlin and Georg Nagel of Würzburg University among the laureates, the Max Planck Society said. Yonhap reported that the third laureate is Karl Deisseroth, 55, a professor at Stanford University in the United States, and gave Hegemann's age as 71 and Nagel's as 73. [ 1 , 2 ]
The Max Planck Society, based in Munich, posted a congratulatory message on its website saying that two of the three laureates came from its institutes, Yonhap reported. The award centres on channelrhodopsin, a protein found in the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas that opens a channel when struck by light of a specific wavelength. Yonhap said the protein was first discovered in 2002; Hankook Ilbo described the discovery as one that allowed nerve cells to be controlled precisely with light and reshaped brain science and medical research. [ 1 , 2 ]
Hegemann led a research team at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried from 1986 to 1993, then worked at Regensburg University before being appointed a professor at Humboldt University in 2005, according to Yonhap. Nagel led research at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt from 1992 to 2004 before moving to Würzburg University in 2004. Nagel has said he first met Hegemann at the biophysics institute, Yonhap reported, citing Reuters. [ 1 ]
Hegemann told the German daily Tagesspiegel after the award that nobody had been interested in their early research on green algae and almost no one had taken it seriously, Yonhap reported. He also received the Shaw Prize, awarded in Hong Kong, in 2020, when he said scientific research was like exploring and mapping unknown territory, according to the same report. [ 1 ]
The two Korean reports both framed the award around the Max Planck Society's long record. Hankook Ilbo said the society, founded in 1948 and named after Nobel physics laureate Max Planck, operates 80 institutes in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences and humanities, while Yonhap put the number at 84. Both said its researchers have won more than 30 Nobel Prizes, with Yonhap giving a figure of 31 in science and technology. Hankook Ilbo attributed the record to the society's so-called Harnack principle: selecting top scientists, giving them sufficient budgets and hiring authority, and keeping interference in research direction to a minimum so that basic research can continue without short-term performance pressure. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The award once again turns attention to Germany's basic-research funding model, which the Korean coverage uses to explain how long, low-interference support can produce Nobel-level work. The Max Planck Society's count of laureates is a benchmark that state-funded research systems elsewhere are measured against.
Key facts
- Sweden's Karolinska Institute Nobel Committee named the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work that founded optogenetics, with Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel among the laureates. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Both Hegemann and Nagel conducted key research at Max Planck institutes in Germany before moving to German universities. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Max Planck Society in Munich posted a congratulatory message on its website, saying two of the three laureates came from its institutes. [ 1 ]
- Hegemann led a research team at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried from 1986 to 1993, later moving to Regensburg University and, in 2005, to Humboldt University Berlin. [ 1 ]
- Nagel led research at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt from 1992 to 2004, then moved to Würzburg University in 2004. [ 1 ]
- The Max Planck Society has produced more than 30 Nobel laureates, including 31 in science and technology according to Yonhap. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The laureates' work centres on channelrhodopsin, a light-responsive protein found in single-celled green algae, which allows nerve cells to be controlled with light. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Hegemann said in an interview with Germany's Tagesspiegel that nobody was interested in their early research on green algae and almost no one took it seriously. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Karolinska Institute's Nobel Committee awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work that founded optogenetics, with Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel among the laureates. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Hegemann and Nagel previously carried out key research at Max Planck institutes in Germany, which the Max Planck Society cited in congratulating them. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Max Planck Society has produced more than 30 Nobel laureates, with Yonhap putting the science and technology figure at 31. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The prize rests on the discovery of channelrhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein in single-celled green algae that lets researchers control nerve cells with light. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Hegemann led a research team at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried from 1986 to 1993, later moving to Regensburg University and, in 2005, to Humboldt University Berlin. [ 1 ]
- Nagel led research at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt from 1992 to 2004, then moved to Würzburg University in 2004. [ 1 ]
Still unclear
- The full list of three laureates, including the third winner, a Stanford University professor named by Yonhap as Karl Deisseroth, aged 55, and the ages of Hegemann (71) and Nagel (73). Only Yonhap names the third laureate and gives the laureates' ages; Hankook Ilbo names only Hegemann and Nagel.
- The number of Max Planck institutes currently operating. Yonhap says the society runs 84 institutes across Germany, while Hankook Ilbo says it operates 80.
- When exactly the Nobel Committee announced the award. The documents say the committee made the announcement on the 5th local time but give no time of day.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Nobel Committee at Sweden's Karolinska Institute announces this year's physiology or medicine laureates for work that founded optogenetics, with Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel among them; the Max Planck Society posts a congratulatory message. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Yonhap publishes its report from Brussels on the Max Planck Society's role in the award. [ 1 ]
- Hankook Ilbo publishes its feature on the Max Planck Society's operating philosophy and its record of Nobel laureates. [ 2 ]