Nobel-prizewinning breakthroughs can emerge from neglected organisms

Nature作者:Zora Zhang2026年10月20日查看原文 ↗
  • CORRESPONDENCE

By

  • Kang Lou1 &
  • Zhenlong Wang2
  1. Zora Zhang
    1. Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.

  2. Kang Lou
    1. Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.

  3. Zhenlong Wang
    1. Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.

The work behind this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine began not with a medical question, but with curiosity about how single-celled algae sense and move towards light. The discovery of channelrhodopsin proteins in algae ultimately led to the development of optogenetics, transforming neuroscience and opening up new avenues for understanding the brain (see Nature 658, 586–588; 2026).

Nature 658, 1094 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-03351-1

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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