(NYT) – Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were recognized for their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, a technique that uses pulses of light to activate neurons in the brain.

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for their discovery of a transformative neuroscience tool that may one day lead to a treatment for blindness.

The three scientists created a way to switch on specific brain cells with pulses of light. The pioneering technique, called optogenetics, uses light-gated ion channels, a type of proteins discovered in single-celled algae. (Read More)