Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for unraveling mystery of mirror molecules
By Issy Ronald, Katie Hunt, CNN
(CNN) — The 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for groundbreaking work in the field of asymmetric chemistry – unraveling the mystery of how molecules exist in non-identical mirror images of each other.
The pair share the 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million) chemistry prize announced Wednesday at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.
Their work hinges on the concept of chirality: that the structure of molecules can be a mirror image of each other, a little like our hands. In nature, most molecules almost always only occur in one variety – a phenomenon known as homochirality, which has long puzzled scientists.
“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously. The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry in a statement.
In the early 1980s, Kagan found ways to manipulate chemical reactions with different types of catalysts, allowing scientists to produce a greater excess of one of the mirror image molecules.
Soai built on this work by designing a chemical reaction in which only one of two possible images was formed. “Other than life itself, no one had previously achieved this feat,” said the Nobel committee.
David Pendlebury, head of research analysis at Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information, said the work opened new directions for chemists exploring how molecular complexity arose.
“This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizes discoveries whose influence has unfolded over decades,” he said.
“The award is a reminder that transformative advances often emerge from sustained, curiosity-driven research, and that the significance of fundamental scientific discoveries may take many years, or even decades, to be fully appreciated.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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