The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to France’s Henri Kagan and Japan’s Kenso Soai for their significant contributions to solving a century-old chemical mystery. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized the pair for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. This research provides a crucial understanding of why certain molecules appear in only one form in nature, a phenomenon known as homochirality.
Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, noted that the duo provided a solution to a problem that had persisted for over a hundred years: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously. Linke described the chemical reactions developed by the scientists as "spectacular" and emphasized that their work has been decisive for chemists designing reactions for pharmaceutical production.
The academy explained the challenge by comparing it to a locksmith attempting to create keys to order, only to consistently produce two mirrored variants. In nature, molecules such as amino acids exist as two mirrored forms, yet only one is found in the proteins within human cells. The other variant is rarely present in nature. The academy highlighted the potential dangers of selecting the incorrect mirror image, citing the thalidomide scandal of the early 1960s, where the incorrect version of an active substance caused widespread birth defects in thousands of children.
Through their research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, Kagan and Soai enabled chemists to control chemical reactions to produce specific mirror images. Kagan, 95, is a professor emeritus at the Université Paris-Saclay in France, while Soai, 76, serves as a professor at the Tokyo University of Science.
This recognition follows a previous controversy in 2001, when the chemistry prize was awarded to William Knowles, Ryoji Noyori, and Barry Sharpless for work in asymmetric catalysis, a decision that drew criticism from French chemists who felt Kagan had been overlooked despite being regarded as the "father" of the technique. Last year, the prize was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for their methods of designing molecular structures.
The chemistry award is part of the annual Nobel season. Earlier in the week, Belgian physicist Francis Halzen was honored with the physics prize for his work using Antarctic ice to capture particles from the cosmos, and the medicine prize was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel. The literature laureate will be announced on Thursday, followed by the peace prize on Friday and the economics prize on October 12th.
The Nobel award includes a diploma, a gold medal, and a 12-million-kronor ($1.2-million) prize sum, to be shared by the laureates. They are scheduled to receive their awards at a formal ceremony on December 10th, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel.
US President Donald Trump lobbied intensively last year to get the prize – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado ended up giving him her Nobel medal – and the committee is aware he will be watching closely again.
