The Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday was awarded to Henri B Kagan and Kenso Soai ‘for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis’.

Kagan is affiliated with Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, and Soai, who is 95 years old, with the Tokyo University of Science.

The scientists were awarded for their breakthrough discoveries that pertain to questions of life.

They solved an age-old mystery: some molecules, like amino acids, exist as two variants that are mirror images of one another, but just one of the variants out of the two is found in the proteins in our cells.

The scientists answered questions about why life chooses one variant over another.

Scientists dealt with homochirality

In chemistry, life’s chemistry is what scientists call homochiral, after the Greek words for ‘same’ and ‘hand’.

The Nobel Committee said the chemistry prize recognises discoveries that have enabled chemists to drive chemical reactions that lead to homochirality

“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. 

“The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular.”

Last year, Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the development of new molecular structures that can trap vast quantities of gas inside. Their discoveries can help tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems, like climate change.

Laureates receive a tailored diploma, a medal and a document detailing the cash award that is set this year to 12mn Swedish kronor, which is equivalent to just over US$1.2mn.

The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded on Monday to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their pioneering work on optogenetics, a method of controlling nerve cells with light, which makes it possible to study how the brain works.

The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded on Tuesday to Francis Halzen, a Belgian-born astrophysicist whose efforts helped demystify a rare group of neutrinos that launched a new era of astronomy.

The Nobel Prize in literature is set to be awarded Thursday and the Nobel peace prize will be announced on Friday.

After that, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Monday.

All prize announcements are streamed live by the Nobel Prize organisation.

DW