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Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai win Nobel Prize in chemistry
NPR • • world
Key Points:
- Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, solving the century-old mystery of spontaneous homochirality.
- Their work, including the "Soai reaction," has been crucial for chemists designing reactions in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
- Kagan is affiliated with Université Paris-Sud in France, while Soai, aged 95, is with Tokyo University of Science in Japan.
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, alongside other recent Nobel awards in medicine and physics.
- The 2024 Nobel Prize carries a monetary award of 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1.2 million), shared among laureates or awarded individually.
