A big step forward for mankind to understand the origin of life. Japanese and French scholars jointly won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry!

Following the announcement of the physics prize winner yesterday (6th), the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced today (6th), with French chemist Henri Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai jointly winning the award.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the creation of the Nobel Prize. The prize money for each award has been specially increased. The two winners will share 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately NT$37.78 million) equally. The award ceremony is scheduled to be grandly held on December 10 this year (the anniversary of Nobel’s death), and the current Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf will personally present the award.

The 95-year-old Kagan is currently an honorary professor at Université Paris-Sud in France. He is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of asymmetric catalysis and has had a profound impact on the pharmaceutical industry. The 76-year-old Kichigo Kenzo is a university lecturer in the Department of Applied Chemistry at Tokyo University of Science. His most famous academic contribution is the discovery of asymmetric autocatalytic reactions, which are called "Soai reactions" in the chemical community.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences pointed out that this year's Chemistry Prize was awarded to Kagan and Kia Hexiansan in recognition of their discovery of "Non-linear effects" and "Autocatalysis" in asymmetric organic synthesis. This discovery is of great help in understanding the origin of life and "Chirality Transfer" (Chirality Transfer). Asymmetric synthesis is considered to be the key scientific key to unlocking the core mystery of the origin of life - biological homochirality.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded last year by Japanese chemist Susumu Kitagawa, British chemist Richard Robson and American chemist Omar M. Yaghi. The three created molecular structures with huge internal spaces that allow gases and other chemicals to flow through them. These structures, called "metal-organic frameworks," could be used to extract water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases, or catalyze chemical reactions.

The Nobel Prize is awarded to the Swedish chemist Alfred. Alfred Nobel's will used most of his inheritance to establish a fund and use interest as bonuses. In 1901, the International Prize was awarded annually. At the beginning, there were only five awards in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. The Economics Award was added by the Swedish Central Bank in 1968 and awarded for the first time in 1969.

According to the official announcement, after the Biomedicine Award, Physics Award, and Chemistry Award, the winner of the Literature Award will be announced at 7 pm on the 8th, Taiwan time, the Peace Prize will be announced at 5 pm on the 9th, and the Economics Award will be announced at 5:45 pm on the 12th.