Severo Ochoa

Severo Ochoa was a Spanish-American biochemist and molecular biologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959 for his discovery of an enzyme that can synthesize ribonucleic acid (RNA), a key molecule in the transmission of genetic information and protein synthesis. Ochoa was born in Luarca, Asturias, Spain, on September 24, 1905. He was the son of a lawyer and businessman, and a cousin of the poet Aurora de Albornoz. He developed an interest in biology after reading the works of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the Spanish Nobel laureate in medicine. He studied medicine at the University of Madrid, where he graduated with honors in 1929. He then went to Germany to work with Otto Meyerhof, a pioneer in biochemistry and physiology of muscle. There he learned the techniques and methods of enzymology, the study of enzymes and their functions. In 1931, Ochoa returned to Spain and became a lecturer in physiology and biochemistry at the University of Madrid. He also worked at the Institute for Medical Research, where he studied the metabolism of carbohydrates and fatty acids. In 1936, he went back to Germany to work with Meyerhof again, but had to leave due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. He then moved to England, where he worked with R.A. Peters at Oxford University on the biological role of vitamin B1. He also became interested in the enzymatic mechanisms of oxidative metabolism, which involves the breakdown of organic molecules to produce energy. In 1941, Ochoa moved to the United States and worked with Carl and Gerty Cori at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. There he studied the enzymes involved in glycolysis and fermentation, two processes that convert glucose into energy. In 1942, he joined the New York University School of Medicine as a research associate in medicine. He later became a professor of biochemistry and pharmacology, and the chairman of the biochemistry department. He also became a naturalized American citizen in 1956. Ochoa's most important contribution to science was his discovery of polynucleotide phosphorylase, an enzyme that can join nucleotides together to form RNA. This discovery, made in 1955 with his colleague Marianne Grunberg-Manago, was crucial for understanding how genetic information is stored and expressed in living cells. Ochoa and Grunberg-Manago initially thought that their enzyme could synthesize RNA based on the template provided by DNA, but later realized that it was not specific enough to do so. However, their enzyme proved to be very useful for studying the structure and function of RNA molecules, as well as for deciphering the genetic code that specifies how RNA sequences are translated into proteins. In 1959, Ochoa shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Arthur Kornberg, who discovered another enzyme that can synthesize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the carrier of genetic information in most organisms. Ochoa was the first Spanish-born scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in science. He also received many other honors and awards, such as the National Medal of Science in 1979. After his retirement from NYU in 1974, Ochoa joined the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in New Jersey. There he continued his research on protein synthesis and the replication of RNA viruses. He retired in 1985 and returned to Spain. He died of pneumonia on November 1, 1993, in Madrid. He was buried in his hometown of Luarca, where a research center and a hospital are named after him. He was also honored with a statue, a stamp, and an asteroid named Severochoa.