Henri Kagan, Kenso Soai win Nobel Prize in chemistry

Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Henri Kagan is affiliated with Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, France. Kenso Soai, 95, is affiliated with the Tokyo University of Science.

The Nobel Prize recipients receive a cash prize of 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether awarded to an individual, a small group of laureates, or an organization.

Last year, three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing new molecular structures capable of trapping vast quantities of gas inside. Their work laid the groundwork to potentially remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or harvest moisture from desert environments.

This year's Nobel announcements began on Monday with the prize for medicine, awarded to three scientists whose work enabled a light-based tool to unravel brain functions. The physics prize on Tuesday recognized a scientist's work to demystify a rare group of neutrinos.

The literature prize will be announced on Thursday. The Peace Prize will follow on Friday, while the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Monday.

-SA