Nobel Chemistry 2026: Kagan and Soai win for cracking the 'mirror molecule' mystery

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis — solving a century-old puzzle about how molecules' mirror images can be produced one-handed.

Many molecules come in left- and right-handed mirror forms, but living organisms use only one — a phenomenon called homochirality that chemists could not replicate in the lab, where reactions normally yield a 50-50 mix. Kagan's 1986 method for controlling reactions with catalysts, and Soai's 2003 reaction producing only one mirror image, changed that.

'Other than life itself, no one had previously achieved this feat,' the Nobel committee noted. The discoveries are described as decisive for designing pharmaceuticals, since the wrong-handed molecule can smell different, act differently — or, as with thalidomide, do harm.

Kagan, 95, of France's Université Paris-Sud, was congratulated by President Macron as 'an immense source of pride for the country'; Soai, 76, of the Tokyo University of Science, learned the news while out shopping. They share 12 million Swedish crowns, about $1.2 million.