Explainer: what are autocatalysis and non-linear effects and why have they won the 2026 Nobel prize in chemistry?

The 2026 Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to Henri Kagan from Paris-Saclay University in France and Kensō Soai from Tokyo University of Science in Japan for their work in the field of organic synthesis. Their discoveries provided key insights into an intriguing class of asymmetric catalytic reactions, and offer potential clues as to how homochirality first emerged in the essential molecules of life.

Kagan and Soai have been recognised specifically ‘for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis’. So what did Kagan and Soai actually do, and why has the Nobel committee deemed their research worthy of science’s most sought-after prize?