French Chemist Henri Kagan (96) and Japanese Chemist Kenso Soai (76) have been jointly awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

On the 7th (local time), the Nobel Committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced their selection, recognizing their groundbreaking discoveries of nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, praised the two laureates, stating, "They have provided the answer to a chemical mystery over a century old: how homochirality—the phenomenon where molecules constituting living organisms exhibit a single spatial orientation—can spontaneously emerge."

With this prize, Japan has produced a Nobel laureate in chemistry for the second consecutive year, following last year's win. As the Asian nation with the highest number of Nobel laureates, Japan has now reached a total of 32 Nobel Prize winners.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry comes with a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately KRW 1.61 billion), which is shared among the co-laureates when there are multiple winners.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]