Kenso Soai. Photo from: Tokyo University of Science
Kenso Soai, a chemist at Tokyo University of Science, has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for helping solve a strange mystery about the building blocks of life.
Soai shares the prize with French chemist Henri B. Kagan. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award on Wednesday, Oct. 7 for their work on how chemical reactions can favor one version of a molecule over its mirror image.
The discovery helps explain how a small chemical preference can grow into a strong one. In simple terms, once a reaction starts favoring one “hand,” that preference can reinforce itself, producing more and more of the same version.
Leave a Reply