The chemistry Nobel followed those for medicine and physics announced on Monday and Tuesday<\/p>\n
Scientists Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving a long-standing riddle of how to form a single \u200bmolecular mirror image, a discovery hugely important for pharmaceutical manufacturing, the award-giving body said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“This is \u200cthe most exciting day in my life; I am very glad to share this prize with Professor Henri Kagan,” Soai said, speaking by phone to the Nobel Prize press conference, adding he had been out shopping when receiving the news.<\/p>\n
\nBREAKING NEWS
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize<\/a> in Chemistry to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai \u201cfor the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/nH090ql1Xc<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
The chemistry Nobel, always the \u200bthird prize to be awarded during Nobel week, followed those for medicine <\/a>and physics<\/a> announced on Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“So this year’s \u200bprize is about foundational chemistry,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.<\/p>\n
Many of \u2060the molecules essential to life exist in two forms that are mirror images of each other, like left and right hands, \u200bhe said. Yet living organisms almost exclusively use only one version, a phenomenon known as “homochirality” \u2013 from the Greek word for hand \u2013 \u200bthat has puzzled chemists for more than a century.<\/p>\n
\n\nThanks to the discoveries that are being recognised by the #NobelPrize<\/a> in Chemistry 2026, chemists have gained fundamental new tools for use in their daily work but, above all, these discoveries have contributed to solving one of chemistry\u2019s greatest mysteries: how homochirality\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ucsky2AxBw<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
This year’s prize was awarded for discoveries that showed how chemical reactions can be driven to favour a single molecular mirror image, work that has been key for chemists who design reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n
“Many of the drug molecules \u200boccur in two variants that are each other’s non-identical mirror image: one has the therapeutic effect, while the other can cause \u200bunnecessary and sometimes harmful side effects,” the Nobel Foundation said.<\/p>\n
\n\nKenso Soai \u2013 awarded the 2026 #NobelPrize<\/a> in Chemistry \u2013 designed the first chemical reaction in which only one of the potential mirror images was formed. Other than life itself, no one had ever achieved this feat. The Soai reaction is one of the most spectacular chemical\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/CQHBqwo1Ut<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Prizes established in will of Swedish inventor <\/strong><\/p>\n
Established in the will of Swedish inventor and \u200cbusinessman Alfred \u2060Nobel, the prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901, with a few interruptions mostly due to the world wars.<\/p>\n
Nobel, a chemist by trade, amassed huge wealth in the 19th century from inventions primarily tied to warfare, most notably dynamite. The economics prize is a later addition funded by the Swedish central bank.<\/p>\n