Washington (Web Desk): This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been won by French scientist Henri Cagin and Japanese chemist Kensu Swai.
The two scientists received the honor for solving a long-standing scientific mystery related to the asymmetric and mirror-image structures of chemical molecules. Their research is being described as a major advancement in the field of drug development.
The 95-year-old Henri Cagin is from France, while 76-year-old Kensu Swai is from Japan. Their research builds on the work of 19th-century French scientist Louis Pasteur, who identified two different forms of certain chemical substances that appeared to be mirror images of each other.
According to the Nobel Committee, many molecules essential to life exist in two mirror-image forms, but living organisms generally use only one of these forms. In chemistry, this process is known as “homochirality,” which has remained a mystery for scientists for more than a century.