Health & Environment
Nobel-Winning Optogenetics Research Inspires Parasite Studies at BITS Pilani Hyderabad
The Hindu1h
THE BRIEF
1
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels.
2
Professor Nishith Gupta of BITS Pilani Hyderabad collaborated with Hegemann to extend optogenetics from neuroscience into studying the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii.
3
The research demonstrated that light-regulated enzymes control signaling molecules inside parasites, shedding light on infection mechanisms and cellular mobility.