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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 Awarded to Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai
Henri Kagan of France and Kenso Soai of Japan receive the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They are recognised for discovering non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, linked to amplification of minor molecular asymmetries.
Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai Research:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Research implication | Demonstrates amplification of minor molecular asymmetries and elucidates phenomena: production of specific molecular enantiomers; predominance of a single molecular chirality in biological systems. |
| Chirality | Regulates the description of a molecule as chiral if it can exist in 2 forms that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. |
| Enantiomers | Comprises the 2 mirror-image forms of a chiral molecule, referred to as enantiomers. |
| Enantiomers (properties) | Mandates that enantiomers generally have very similar physical properties in achiral environments but can interact very differently with chiral biological molecules. |