Summary:

- Researchers at UCLA have discovered a new chemical reaction that challenges a long-standing rule in chemistry, known as the Curtin-Hammett principle, which has been taught in textbooks for over a century.
- The new reaction involves the formation of a carbon-carbon bond through the use of a chiral catalyst, which can produce two different stereoisomers of the product. This finding contradicts the Curtin-Hammett principle, which states that only the thermodynamically favored product should be formed.
- The discovery has significant implications for the field of organic chemistry, as it could lead to the development of new catalysts and synthetic strategies for the production of valuable chemical compounds.