The power of chirality

Two smells, one molecule. It's just reversed!

Jeanne Fenouil, science writer at the Institut Pasteur, explains how a simple reversal can change everything.

This is called chirality: two “mirror” versions of the same molecule that cannot be superimposed, like your left and right hands.


Discovered by Louis Pasteur, this property plays a major role in biology, perfumery... and even medicine! Certain drugs, such as ibuprofen, only work in one orientation in space.

(video in french, English subtitles available)