Chemistry Nobel goes to Kagan and Soai for work on molecular asymmetry
French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai share the chemistry Nobel for explaining why nature favours one form of certain molecules.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japan's Kenso Soai, who were honoured in Stockholm on Wednesday for work on why nature produces only one of two possible forms of certain molecules.
What the prize recognises
The award cites the pair's discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. In simple terms, their research tackled a long-standing puzzle: many molecules exist in two mirror-image forms, yet living systems tend to use just one of them.
The two scientists worked on how chemical reactions can amplify a small preference for one form over the other, rather than producing an even mix. That question sits at the heart of what is often described as the asymmetry of life.
A French-Japanese pairing
The prize is shared between a French researcher and a Japanese one, continuing a pattern of recent chemistry awards that recognise international collaboration. The Nobel committee announced the chemistry laureates on Wednesday, the third of this year's science prizes to be revealed in Stockholm.
Kagan is a long-established figure in French chemistry, while Soai is known in Japan for his work on asymmetric autocatalysis. The two are named jointly in the citation, with no division of the award specified in the reports.
Why it matters in Europe
The award is a reminder of Europe's continued weight in fundamental chemistry, where French laboratories have long been central to research on chirality and synthesis. Such work feeds into pharmaceutical manufacturing, since the two mirror forms of a drug molecule can behave very differently in the body.
For European science policy, the prize also underlines the value of cross-border collaboration at a time when research funding and international mobility are under debate across the continent.
Sources
Super Admin
Contributing writer at EUReflect.
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