Two scientists win 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

China News Service, Beijing, October 7th, Stockholm News: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on the 7th that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be awarded to French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai in recognition of their discovery of nonlinear effects and autocatalytic phenomena in asymmetric organic synthesis.

The award committee pointed out in a press release issued that day that some molecules, such as amino acids, exist in two variants that are mirror images of each other. However, there is only one of these mirror forms in living organisms. How this chemical asymmetry arises has long been an unsolved mystery for chemists. Henry B. Kagan and Kia Hexiansan were awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving this mystery. Their discovery will be decisive for chemists designing reactions to produce drugs.

They will share the prize money of SEK 12 million equally.

According to information on the official website of the Nobel Prize, Henri B. Kagan was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, in 1930. He received a doctorate from the Collège de France in 1960 and is now an honorary professor at the University of Paris-Sud in France. Kenzo Kip was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1950. He received his doctorate from the University of Tokyo in 1979 and is currently an honorary professor at the Tokyo University of Science, Japan.