{
  "id": 15832478,
  "title": "Nobel Prize winner Soai delivers lecture in Tokyo about reaction named after him",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/nobel-prize-winner-soai-delivers-lecture-in-tokyo-about-reaction",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-21T01:37:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/10/21/japan/nobel-kenso-soai-lecture/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Renowned Japanese scientist Kenso Soai, at the age of 76, delivered a lecture in Tokyo on Tuesday, focusing on his groundbreaking work in the field of chemistry that earned him the Nobel Prize. The Chemical Society of Japan hosted the event, drawing a large audience of around 2,000 attendees, both in-person and online.\n\nSoai's lecture centered around the \"Soai reaction,\" a process that involves a subtle difference between two mirror-image molecular forms - akin to left and right hands - becoming amplified until one form predominates. This reaction was first published in 1990, marking a significant milestone in Soai's research career.\n\nDuring the Q&A session, Soai expressed his dedication to further research, stating, \"I hope to study a wide range of possible causes for the left-right imbalances.\" In a subsequent news conference, he explained his motivation for delving into these fundamental matters, indicating that he hopes to attend the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm in December with a positive outlook. Soai also mentioned his intention to deliver a subsequent lecture in Stockholm, where he plans to discuss his research results while acknowledging the contributions of 19th-century French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who also studied molecular asymmetry.",
  "summary": "In his lecture, Kenso Soai discussed the Soai reaction, which led to him winning the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}