1905-1993

Spanish-American biochemist who shared the 1959 Nobel Prize with Arthur Kornberg for their discovery of the mechanism of the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Ochoa's American research career began in the laboratory of Carl and Gerty Cori. His studies of high-energy phosphates and the enzymatic processes involved in biological oxidation and the transfer of energy led to the discovery of the enzyme polynucleotide phosphorylase, which catalyzes the synthesis of RNA.