Chemistry Nobel 2026: Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai honoured
Why in the news
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced in Stockholm on 7 October 2026 that Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai had won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discoveries in asymmetric organic synthesis.
Key facts
- Laureates: Henri Kagan of France (95) and Kenso Soai of Japan (76).
- Field: asymmetric organic synthesis, which steers reactions towards one of two mirror-image (chiral) forms of a molecule.
- Homochirality: their findings let chemists drive reactions towards a single handedness, the pattern seen in living organisms.
- Prize money: 12 million Swedish kronor, shared, along with a medal and diploma for each.
Who did what
| Laureate | Country | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Henri Kagan | France | In 1985 showed a way to steer reactions so that one mirror-image molecule forms in greater excess than expected |
| Kenso Soai | Japan | Between 1995 and 2003 demonstrated the first reaction yielding only one of the two mirror-image forms |
About chirality
Many molecules exist as two mirror images, like left and right hands, but living systems use only one. In medicines the two forms can act differently, so methods that make just the desired form matter for drug manufacture.
Exam angle
- The chemistry prize followed the Medicine (5 October) and Physics (6 October) awards; Literature was due on 8 October and Peace on 9 October.
- Remember the keywords: chirality, homochirality, asymmetric synthesis.