On October 5, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden announced the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The prize went to three scientists: Karl Deisseroth from the United States, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel from Germany. They won it for their work on light-gated ion channels and a method called optogenetics.
The story began with a simple question. How can a single-celled green alga swim towards light when it has no brain and no eyes? Hegemann and Nagel studied the alga and found a special protein on its surface. When blue light hits the protein, a small channel opens and charged ions flow into the cell. The cell works like a tiny battery that has just been switched on.
The two scientists then discovered something even more useful. The protein could be moved into other kinds of cells, and those cells would become light sensitive too. Deisseroth took the next step. He put the gene for this protein into nerve cells taken from rats. A flash of blue light was enough to make the cells fire a signal.
Two years later, he made the same trick work in the brains of living mice. The method was named optogenetics. For the first time, researchers could turn a chosen group of brain cells on or off and then watch what happened. Before that, they could only observe which areas of the brain were busy, without proving that one thing caused another.
The new tool has already changed neuroscience. Scientists have used it to find the brain circuits behind pain, memory, thirst and social behaviour. Doctors are also testing it to help some blind patients see a little again. The three winners will share a prize of twelve million Swedish kronor, about eight million yuan.
Words to know:
- alga (n. 藻类，藻)
- protein (n. 蛋白质)
- ion (n. 离子)
- channel (n. 通道，频道)
- nerve (n. 神经)
- circuit (n. 回路，电路)
- behaviour (n. 行为，举止)
- neuroscience (n. 神经科学)
长难句拆解 · how 引导宾语从句 + when 引导让步/时间状语从句省略结构
原文：How can a single-celled green alga swim towards light when it has no brain and no eyes?
拆解：主干是 How can a single-celled green alga swim towards light（一种单细胞绿藻怎么能朝着光游动）。这是一个疑问句，how 引导的其实是整个句子的疑问核心。when 在这里不是「什么时候」，而是「既然、在……的情况下」，引导一个表示背景的状语从句 it has no brain and no eyes。single-celled 是「单细胞的」，由名词 cell 加 -ed 构成的复合形容词，注意 cell 要双写 l。
直译：一种单细胞绿藻既没有大脑也没有眼睛，它怎么能朝着光游动呢？
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文的词换成另一个说法来出题，认出这些替换，定位就能快一半。
- went to three scientists → was given to / awarded to three scientists（go to 在此指奖项归属）
- a single-celled green alga → a tiny plant-like organism with one cell（alga ＝ 藻类）
- blue light hits the protein → blue light strikes the protein（hit ＝ strike，照到）
- charged ions flow into the cell → ions with an electric charge move in（flow into ＝ move into）
- become light sensitive → become able to react to light（sensitive ＝ 敏感的）
- he made the same trick work → he got the same method to succeed（make … work ＝ 使……奏效）
- without proving that one thing caused another → without showing a cause-and-effect link（prove ＝ show）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- T / F / NG：黑格曼和内格尔最初研究的目的是想找到治疗失明的方法。（判断正误并说明依据）
- 简答：戴塞罗思把这种蛋白质的基因导入了哪类细胞？
- 选词填空：The three winners will ____ a prize of twelve million Swedish kronor.（供选：share / spare / split out）
参考答案与解析
- NOT GIVEN。原文只说他俩研究的是「单细胞绿藻为什么能朝着光游动」这个好奇心驱动的问题，并发现了通道视紫红质蛋白，全文没有提到他们当时的目的是治病。治疗失明是后来别人用这项技术的应用，属于「张冠李戴」。做 T/F/NG 题看到原文没提的动机、目的、情感，一律选 NG。
- 从大鼠身上取来的神经细胞。原文说 He put the gene for this protein into nerve cells taken from rats。别答成「活体小鼠的大脑」，那是两年后他做到的第二件事。
- share。share 作动词意为「分享、共同享有」，三位获奖者分享奖金正是这个用法。spare 意为「抽出、饶恕」，split out 不是常见搭配（正确说法是 split … between / among），均不合题意。
中文译文
10 月 5 日，瑞典卡罗琳医学院公布了 2026 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。奖项颁给三位科学家：美国的卡尔·戴塞罗思，以及德国的彼得·黑格曼和格奥尔格·内格尔。他们因在光门控离子通道和一种名为「光遗传学」的方法上的发现而获奖。
故事从一个简单的问题开始。一种单细胞绿藻既没有大脑，也没有眼睛，它究竟是怎样朝着光游动的？黑格曼和内格尔研究这种藻类时，在它的表面发现了一种特殊的蛋白质。蓝光一照到这种蛋白质，一个细小的通道就会打开，带电离子随即流入细胞。这个细胞就像一块刚刚被打开的微型电池。
随后，两位科学家发现了更有用的东西：这种蛋白质可以被移植到其他种类的细胞里，而那些细胞也会变得对光敏感。戴塞罗思接着走出了下一步。他把编码这种蛋白质的基因导入从大鼠身上取来的神经细胞。一次蓝光闪烁，就足以让这些细胞发出信号。
两年后，他让同样的手法在活体小鼠的大脑中奏效。这种技术被命名为光遗传学。研究者第一次可以让选定的那一小群脑细胞开启或关闭，然后观察发生了什么。在此之前，他们只能观察大脑的哪些区域正在忙碌，却无法证明这件事导致了那件事。
这项新工具已经改变了神经科学。科学家用它找到了疼痛、记忆、口渴和社会行为背后对应的脑回路。医生们也在试验用它帮助部分失明患者恢复一点视力。三位获奖者将分享 1200 万瑞典克朗的奖金，约合 800 万元人民币。