The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan of France and Kenso Soai of Japan for resolving a fundamental chemical puzzle about why living organisms favour one specific form of molecular structure over another.
According to the Nobel Committee, the recognition stems from their work explaining a phenomenon central to all biological systems. The committee stated:
"Molecules used by all life, such as the amino acids that are building blocks of proteins, are what is known as chiral."
What does chirality mean?
Chirality describes a molecular property where compounds exist in two distinct configurations that mirror each other, much like left and right hands.
"This means that they have two versions that are mirror images of one another."Despite this apparent symmetry, nature operates with remarkable selectivity in which version it employs.
Why does life prefer one molecular form?
Living organisms demonstrate an extraordinary preference for a single version of these mirror-image molecules. Kagan and Soai's research provided the theoretical and practical framework for understanding this selectivity—answering why life consistently favours one of these two possible molecular configurations over the other, a question that had puzzled chemists for decades.
