# Nobel Prize in Chemistry Goes to Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai for Chirality Breakthroughs

*2026-10-07 10:01 UTC · Science · 1 min read*

> Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win the 2026 chemistry Nobel for work on autocatalysis and non-linear effects in asymmetric synthesis.

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on October 7 to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for their work on non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

Their discoveries address a chemical puzzle more than a century old: why molecules of life exist predominantly in one of two mirror-image forms. Soai's autocatalytic reaction showed how a tiny imbalance can amplify itself, while Kagan described non-linear effects in asymmetric catalysis.

The work matters for drug manufacturing, where the wrong mirror-image form of a molecule can be ineffective or harmful. Last year's prize went to Kitagawa, Yaghi and Robson for metal-organic frameworks.

## Sources

- [chemistryworld.com](https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/the-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-2026-as-it-happens-live/4024303.article)
- [newsbytesapp.com](https://newsbytesapp.com/news/science/these-are-the-winners-of-nobel-prize-in-chemistry/story)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2480-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-goes-to-henri-kagan-and-kenso-soai-for-chirality
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2554-nobelovu-cenu-za-chemii-ziskali-henri-kagan-a-kenso-soai-za-prulom-v-chiralite