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Chemistry Nobel awarded for solving mystery of life's asymmetry

Chemistry Nobel awarded for solving mystery of life's asymmetry

Summary

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for solving a puzzle about life's building blocks. They explained why living things use only one mirror-image form of certain molecules, like amino acids, rather than both.

Key Facts

  • Henri B. Kagan from France and Kenso Soai from Japan won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
  • Their research focused on "chirality," which means molecules exist in two mirror-image forms.
  • Life uses only one specific mirror-image form of molecules such as amino acids, which build proteins.
  • The scientists discovered why life prefers one form over the other.
  • Understanding this helps explain the chemical basis of life’s structure and functions.
  • The Nobel Committee recognized their work as solving this longstanding chemical mystery.
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