Kagan and Soai win 2026 chemistry Nobel for work on molecular handedness

Chemistry World traces how Henri Kagan’s work on nonlinear effects and Kensō Soai’s discovery of asymmetric autocatalysis led to the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Their research offers a plausible chemical route toward the consistent “handedness” of life’s molecules. The article also describes competing explanations for how the Soai reaction works, a question that remains under debate.