The creation of asymmetric molecules from symmetrical precursors is a useful strategy for organic synthesis. A new catalyst can accomplish this task through a unique, symmetry-breaking reaction. Chirality, the 'left-handed' or 'light-handed' propertyof objects that are minor images of each other, is ubiquitous in the observable world — shoes, conch shells, wood screws and umbilical cords, for instance. This property extends to objects in the nanoscale dimension; neatly all molecules in nature (suchas amino acids, sugars, alkaloids and terpenes) and legions of synthetic compounds are chiral. For chemists who wish to prepare purpose-built compounds with specific attributes — for example, medicinal, mechanical, physical — the ability to imbue molecules with the appropriate chirality is paramount. In this issue, Zhao et al. (page 67) describe a method that allows chiral molecules to be generated from achiral precursors. The chiral products are of great use as general building-blocks for further organic synthesis.
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