This week’s science news roundup unpacks the 2026 Nobel Prizes—from controlling brain cells with flashes of light to catching ghostly neutrinos from distant galaxies in Antarctic ice to building mirror-image molecules one at a time. Plus, we meet Jonathan, a 194-year-old tortoise whose DNA might hold the secret to a longer life.

Recommended Reading:
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2026-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-is-award-to-henri-kagan-and-kenso-soai-for-their-work-in-mirror-chemistry/">2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to pioneers in ‘mirror’ chemistry</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2026-nobel-prize-in-physics-awarded-to-francis-halzen-for-discovery-of-high-energy-neutrinos/">2026 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Francis Halzen, pioneer of high-energy neutrinos</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2026-nobel-prize-in-physiology-or-medicine-awarded-to-karl-deisseroth-george-nagel-and-peter-hegemann-for-work-on-optogenetics/">2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to scientists behind optogenetics</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-unlock-the-longevity-secrets-of-194-year-old-jonathan-the-giant-tortoise/">The oldest known land animal is 194. How did he get so ancient?</a>

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Nobel winners, neutrino detectors and nature’s longest-living tortoise

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