Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai share the Nobel chemistry prize for work on why life uses one-handed molecules
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis (nobelprize.org, Khaleej Times, Prothom Alo, ThePrint, Madhyamam). The work addresses chirality: why living things use only one of two mirror-image forms of molecules. Kagan found how to obtain a larger excess of one form; Soai showed a reaction that amplifies itself. The prize is 12 million Swedish crowns.
Making a single mirror form is essential for medicines, because the two forms can act very differently.
It underpins how many modern drugs are manufactured.
A prize for ideas that look abstract but run through industrial chemistry.
DailyDrop Pakistan edition No. 4 · Morning · THU., OCT. 8, 2026