Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news ​briefs.

US and German scientists win Nobel ​medicine prize for work on ‌light and ​brain

American Karl Deisseroth and Germans Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or ‌Medicine on Monday for developing optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control individual nerve cells in the brain. The Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institutet said Deisseroth, 54; Hegemann, 71; ‌and Nagel, 73, had been selected for their "discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics."

Alien 'phoenix ‌planet' was born from the ashes of a dying star

In ancient mythology, the phoenix was a miraculous bird with a cyclical pattern of life and death, perishing in flames only to rise again ⁠from the ​ashes. Astronomers have ⁠now found a world that rightly can be called a phoenix planet. Researchers said this exoplanet, as planets ⁠beyond our solar system are called, appears to have been born from material expelled into space ​during the death throes of a star a bit bigger than the sun, ⁠and now orbits the highly compact stellar remnant that was left behind, called a white dwarf.

How ⁠is ​the Nobel Peace Prize decided?

The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday. Here is a look at how the award works: WHO IS NOMINATED?

US FAA ⁠looks to streamline rules for commercial space launches

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday ⁠it is proposing to ⁠streamline regulations for commercial space launches and re-entries. The moves include allowing operators to submit launch applications electronically, offering greater flexibility in demonstrating ‌equivalent levels ‌of safety and combining three required safety analyses ​into a single submission.