Spanish-born biochemist Severo Ochoa spent his life engaged in research into the workings of the human body. In the 1950s, he was one of the first scientists to synthesize the newly discovered ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the laboratory. This was the first time that scientists managed to combine molecules together in a chain outside a living organism. For this work, Ochoa received the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. In addition to his laboratory work, Ochoa, who was trained as a physician in Spain, taught biochemistry and pharmacology to many generations of New York University medical students.

Severo Ochoa was born on September 24, 1905, in Luarca, a small town in the north of Spain. Named after his father, a lawyer, Ochoa was the youngest son in the family. When he was seven, his parents decided to move to Málaga. The move enabled Ochoa to attend a private...