Henri B. Kagan of France and Kenso Soai of Japan have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving a fundamental question that has puzzled scientists for decades: why living organisms use only one of the two mirror-image forms of many organic molecules.
Life’s building blocks, such as amino acids, come in two enantiomeric versions that are like left- and right-handed gloves. For billions of years of evolution, biological systems have consistently chosen the left-handed form of the amino acids that constitute proteins. The new Nobel-winning research reveals that this preference is driven by quantum-level processes that guide the chemical reactions toward one specific handedness.
The breakthrough, which provides a molecular explanation for the emergence of biological chirality, has profound implications beyond basic science. It opens up avenues for the rational design of chiral drugs, where the correct enantiomer often determines efficacy and safety, and for the engineering of synthetic molecules that mimic life’s exquisite hand-selectivity. In addition, the work illustrates how quantum phenomena can shape macroscopic chemical behaviour, a concept that is central to the emerging field of quantum biology.
In a statement, the Nobel Committee highlighted the elegance of the discovery: “By revealing how quantum effects steer molecules into one handedness, the laureates have not only solved a long-standing riddle but also laid the groundwork for future materials and pharmaceutical innovation.”
