“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously,” said Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, in a statement. “The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular.”

Life is remarkably selective. Life relies on many molecules with what is termed “handedness”—they’re chemically identical but are mirror images of each other. Most chemical reactions will make a 50/50 mix of the left- and right-handed forms of a chemical,

Scientists have helped solve a longstanding mystery about how Earth remained habitable after oxygen first accumulated in its atmosphere more than 2 billion years ago, providing evidence that ancient ocean chemistry sustained life-friendly conditions.

This year’s National Chemistry Week theme, “Chemistry Under Construction,” gives us an opportunity to explore the chemistry behind the materials that build our world—from concrete and steel to bricks and polymers.