GoKawiilHenri Kagan and Kenso Soai share 2024 Chemistry Nobel for chirality research
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Henri Kagan of the University of Paris-Sud and Kenso Soai of Tokyo University, splitting the 12-million-kronor prize. Kagan's 1980s experiments showed how small imbalances in molecular handedness could be amplified, while Soai's 1990s work demonstrated that a single-handed molecule could catalyze production of more molecules sharing its own chirality, together explaining how life's building blocks end up uniformly 'one-handed.'
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The Nobel committee's chair, Heiner Linke, called their work a solution to a century-old chemical mystery, suggesting its enduring scientific significance beyond immediate applications. Their discoveries underpin modern methods chemists use to design reactions for pharmaceuticals, materials and fragrances, since molecular handedness can determine how a substance behaves in the body. The award may also be seen as recognition long overdue for Kagan, who reportedly narrowly missed a related Nobel in 2001.
- Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for explaining molecular chirality.
- Kagan's 1980s work showed how tiny handedness imbalances in reactions could be amplified.
- Soai's 1990s experiments showed one-handed molecules can catalyze more molecules of the same chirality, aiding drug and materials design.
Source: nature.com — Gibney, 2026-10-07
Published there as: “Chemistry Nobel for solving mystery of how ‘handed’ organic molecules can emerge”
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