For those who follow science, October is a month of anticipation. The Nobel Prizes, often compared to the Oscars of the research world, are handed out to the minds that have pushed the boundaries of human knowledge. This year, the awards in physiology or medicine, physics, and chemistry went to a group of laureates that, once again, was exclusively male—a fact that has reignited the debate about gender representation in science.
Our journalists Marta Iraola Iribarren and Pascale Davies covered the announcements for Euronews. In the first episode of Password, our new monthly series on tech and health tech, they discuss the winners, their breakthroughs, and the persistent gender gap in the sciences.
Medicine: shedding light on the brain
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth of the United States and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel. Their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics has given researchers a powerful tool to study the living brain.
“It is a method that makes it possible to show how nerve cells shape memories and feeling behaviours in the living brain,” Iraola explained. Optogenetics allows scientists to control neurons with light, offering unprecedented insight into how the brain processes information and emotions. The technique is already being tested in clinical trials, with early results suggesting it could one day help restore partial sight in blind people.
Physics: a neutrino telescope at the South Pole
The physics prize went to Belgian scientist Francis Halzen for his role in creating the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and for the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. Halzen, who is based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison but maintains close ties to Belgium, turned a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice into a detector that captures nearly invisible particles from outer space.
“His work has given us a whole new way to explore the universe,” said Davies. “He turned a massive block of ice in the South Pole into a detector that can see basically almost invisible particles that reach Earth from outer space, and he called the device the IceCube.”
The observatory, built between 2004 and 2010, is now an international collaboration involving more than 450 scientists from 14 countries. Among them is Gwenhaël Wilberts De Wasseige, a professor at the Université Catholique de Louvain, where Halzen studied. She told Euronews Next that the award was a long-awaited recognition of a project that has inspired many.
“It was just a question of time, and to see him getting the prize and dedicating it to all the people that started the adventure with him, continued the adventure and all the PhD students, to all the technicians who keep making the IceCube better, that was something very special.”
Chemistry: mirror molecules and practical applications
The chemistry prize was shared by French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai for their research into molecular mirror images. Many molecules, including amino acids, exist in two forms that are mirror images of each other, but living organisms typically use only one. The laureates discovered how chemical reactions can amplify a slight excess of one form, producing a single version—a breakthrough with direct applications in pharmaceuticals.
“It has actually very practical applications; one for example is for pharmaceutical development,” said Iraola. The ability to produce pure chiral compounds is essential for many drugs, as the wrong mirror image can be ineffective or even harmful.
The gender gap: a reflection of the past, or a persistent problem?
Apart from Anne Carson in literature and Navanetham Pillay in peace, all 2026 Nobel laureates were men. In the science categories, the absence of women was conspicuous. Iraola noted that this underrepresentation mirrors the broader reality of research fields, where women have historically been marginalised.
“In the science awards, women are underrepresented because this reflects a broader underrepresentation of them in this area of research,” she said. However, she added that the situation is slowly improving. Because Nobel Prizes often recognise work done decades ago, today’s laureates reflect the gender norms of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, when science was far less accessible to women.
“However, the number of women awarded has slowly increased in recent decades, and hopefully we will keep seeing this trend,” Iraola concluded.
The debate over gender in science is not limited to the Nobels. Other prestigious awards are rethinking their categories to be more inclusive. And while the Nobel committee has made some progress, the all-male science slate in 2026 shows how much work remains.
For those interested in the broader context of scientific recognition, Brian Cox's recent honour highlights the importance of communicating science to the public. Meanwhile, events like the Starmus Festival continue to celebrate the intersection of science and culture.
As the Nobel Prizes continue to evolve, the hope is that future laureates will better reflect the diversity of the scientific community. Until then, the 2026 awards serve as a reminder of both the brilliance of the winners and the barriers that still exist.
