Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai win Nobel Prize in chemistry
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on asymmetric organic synthesis. Their research provides insights into how homochirality emerges, which is critical for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
Why it matters
The discovery solves a long-standing chemical mystery and has practical applications in the development and production of life-saving medicines.
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STOCKHOLM — Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
"Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously," Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said in a news release. "The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular."
The duo's discoveries, the news release said, "have been decisive for chemists who design reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals."
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