The Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM), together with the Fundación Carmen y Severo Ochoa and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), have presented an exhibition on the history and legacy of Prof. Severo Ochoa (1905–1993). The exhibition was inaugurated on 2 September 2024 at the Domus museum in A Coruña, Spain, as a satellite activity of the SEBBM 46th Congress, which took place in that city of the Northwest of Spain on 3–6 September 2024.

Prof. Severo Ochoa was one of the great biochemists of the twentieth century. He had the vision to move from physiology to biochemistry and then to molecular biology, always working at the interface of these disciplines. Ochoa influenced the modernisation and promotion of science in Spain. He played a leading role in the founding of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry (SEB), now SEBBM, and in the incorporation of the SEB into the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS).

Severo Ochoa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959 for his discovery of polynucleotide phosphorylase, an enzyme that was the first to synthesise RNA in the test tube. This enzyme later proved crucial in deciphering the genetic code.

The panels cover the different stages of Prof. Ochoa's life, his research work in laboratories of Spain, Europe and USA, his scientific achievements and his legacy in Spain to the present day. The panels and photographs from the event can be viewed on the SEBBM website.

The exhibition will be on show next at the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina de España (RANME) in Madrid, as part of the first Semana Severo Ochoa, from 29 October 2024 to 31 January 2025.

Top image by the SEBBM.