Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japanese scientist Kenso Soai delivered a lecture in Tokyo on Tuesday, discussing asymmetric autocatalytic reaction, the theme that led to him winning the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Hosted by the Chemical Society of Japan, the lecture by the 76-year-old professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Science was attended by about 2,000 people, including online participants.

In the reaction, a tiny difference between the two mirror-image molecular forms, much like left and right hands, is amplified until one of them predominates. The process is called the Soai reaction.

In 1990, Soai published his first research findings resulting in the Soai reaction.

In a question-and-answer session during the lecture, he expressed his commitment to future research, saying, "I hope to study a wide range of possible causes for the left-right imbalances."

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenso Soai, co-winner of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, delivers a lecture in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenso Soai, co-winner of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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