DOMINANT ANGLE
Helsinki interprets this Nobel Prize in Chemistry as a science lesson: the Finnish press explains the "right hand" and "left hand" of molecules and the century-old enigma that Kagan and Soai solved.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The prize honors Henri Kagan (Paris-Sud, France) and Kenso Soai (University of Science in Tokyo); it is endowed with 12 million Swedish crowns, equivalent to a little over one million euros (MTV Uutiset).
- 02
According to YLE, all known life is based on "left-handed" amino acids (homochirality), and Kagan and Soai have obtained molecules of a single hand with much less pure auxiliaries.
- 03
Jan Deska (University of Helsinki) in Helsingin Sanomat: "Each amino acid in our body is left-handed"; a drug of the wrong hand can be harmful.
ANALYSIS
Helsinki, October 8, 2026. Finland's three media outlets, Helsingin Sanomat, YLE, and MTV Uutiset, report on the announcement made on Wednesday, October 7, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry being awarded to Frenchman Henri Kagan and Japanese national Kenso Soai. None of them dwell on the nationalities or the laureates' backgrounds: the focus is on the phenomenon they studied.
MTV Uutiset provides the brief version. The prize rewards the resolution of the "asymmetric mystery of chemistry": certain molecules, including amino acids, exist in two forms that are mirror images of each other, and for a long time, it was unknown how such asymmetry could arise. The award ceremony will take place in Stockholm on December 10, with a prize of 12 million Swedish crowns, equivalent to slightly over one million euros.
YLE offers the longest explanation. The public broadcaster recalls that the term chirality comes from the Greek word cheir, "hand", and invites the reader to look at their own palms: mirror images of each other, but not superimposable. All known life is based on "left-handed" amino acids, a phenomenon called homochirality. According to YLE, Kagan and Soai have developed a process that produces large quantities of molecules with a single "hand" using auxiliary molecules that are much less pure than before.
Helsingin Sanomat highlights the practical implications, relying on Jan Deska, a professor of synthetic chemistry at the University of Helsinki. "Each amino acid in our body is left-handed," he says; only a molecule of the same "hand" matches, like a left-handed handshake only works with a left hand. A medication with the wrong "hand" can be harmful, and odors also differ: the turpentine of conifers is left-handed, while the right-handed form of the same molecule smells like lemon and orange. Deska adds that this work helps understand how chemical reactions led to life on Earth, which remains partly obscure.
The Finnish narrative thus remains scientific and didactic, without the dimension of national pride or the debate on the late recognition of a 95-year-old laureate that animates other presses. The only expert cited is a Finnish researcher, and the examples are those of everyday life: forest, citrus fruits, medications.
