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How do you switch on a brain cell with a beam of light? Three scientists who worked out the answer have won this year’s Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.
Hailing their work, Robert Lucas, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Manchester, explains how a protein found in a tiny alga led to optogenetics, a technique that is changing how we study the brain. It is also being tested in people with a form of sight loss.
Meanwhile, a bear hidden in the Bayeux tapestry offers a clue to a surprising chapter in England’s medieval history.
Finally, read about how researchers at King’s College London are attempting to find out what has happened to the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia for “re-education”.
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Clint Witchalls
Senior Health Editor
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Chlamydomonas.
Alf Jacob Nilson/Alamy
Robert Lucas, University of Manchester
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won for optogenetics, a technique that uses light to switch brain cells on and off.
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The Bayeux Tapestry’s scene 11 depicts a man holding a sword above a tethered bear.
funkyfood London - Paul Williams/Alamy
Liam Lewis, Cardiff University
New research reveals how bears became more common in English towns after 1066, helping illuminate the history of bear baiting.
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Ukraine’s authorities have verified 20,651 cases of children deported or forcibly displaced to Russia and Belarus since 2022.
Madonova / Shutterstock
Vladyslav Havrylov, King's College London
Russia’s strategy is twofold, to secure compliance from parents in occupied areas and erase Ukrainian identity.
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World
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Débora Thomé, Instituto Brasileiro de Ensino, Desenvolvimento e Pesquisa (IDP) ; Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV); Associação Brasileira de Ciência Política (ABCP)
Once the 2026 election is over, Brazil must ensure the strength of its institutions far beyond simply guaranteeing fair elections.
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Politics + Society
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Zoe Baker, University of Sheffield; Cody Varnish, University of Bath; Justin Rogers, The Open University; Rosie McGuire, University of Bath
Young people who have been in care come up against a ‘cliff edge’ when they are expected to become independent.
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Arts + Culture
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Jenni Ramone, Nottingham Trent University
An inventive book in which each chapter is named after the sections in a partita and serves same role in creating the whole piece.
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Steve Greenfield, University of Westminster
Increasing commercialisation has left some loyal fans feeling pushed out to make way for new, higher-spending ones.
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Amy C. Chambers, Manchester Metropolitan University
From expanded vision to immortal bodies, these screen depictions have all stretched our understanding of what technology could do to humans.
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Hui-Ying Kerr, Nottingham Trent University
Stories of cute furry animals that manage to find moments of joy while doing crushing jobs are bringing some solace to a generation of burnt-out workers.
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Business + Economy
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Eva Lloyd, University of East London; Sung-Hee Lee, University of Derby
The design of funding systems may matter more than funding levels.
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Steve Greenfield, University of Westminster
Increasing commercialisation has left some loyal fans feeling pushed out to make way for new, higher-spending ones.
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Education
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Eva Lloyd, University of East London; Sung-Hee Lee, University of Derby
The design of funding systems may matter more than funding levels.
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Environment
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Adam Hart, University of Gloucestershire
Large animals such as rhino and elephant need to be moved carefully, if they are relocated to a new reserve.
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Julie Dayot, University of Exeter
In the Ecuadorian Amazon, oil extraction reaches communities already facing environmental pressures, pressing needs and aspirations for a better life.
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Health
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Dharani Hapangama, University of Liverpool; Alison Maclean, University of Liverpool; Katie Jones, University of Liverpool
Removing endometriosis does not always relieve pelvic pain. Other conditions and increased sensitivity in the nervous system may help explain why.
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Rachel Ann Da Costa, Karolinska Institutet; Adrián Carballo Casla, Karolinska Institutet
What matters most when it comes to healthy ageing is overall diet quality maintained consistently over time.
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Colin Davidson, University of Lancashire
Medetomidine, a veterinary sedative, is now turning up in heroin, diazepam and fentanyl across the UK and US.
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Science + Technology
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Steven Allain, Anglia Ruskin University
Sometimes, the most extraordinary things in nature are the things we cannot see.
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