Research Daily Summary: What Happened on October 8, 2026

Kagan and Soai’s work addressed a long-standing chemical question

Kagan and Soai were named the 2026 Chemistry Nobel laureates on October 7 for discoveries in asymmetric organic synthesis, which studies reactions that favor one mirror-image form of a molecule.2 Kagan’s 1986 experiments showed that catalyst composition and the chirality of the resulting product do not always have a linear relationship.2

Soai reported a self-forming chiral substance in 1995, then described a reaction that produced an excess of one mirror-image form in 2003.2 Their work helps explain how homochirality can arise, though Peter Somfai said laboratory research has not reproduced how it arose billions of years ago.2

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Also published

• Chemistry Nobel goes to molecular chirality researchers pharmaphorum
• Nobel Prize honors researchers who solved chemistry's asymmetry mystery Science News