Por Gonzalo
13 febrero, 2025 
Biochemist Federico Mayor Zaragoza played a pivotal part in preventing inherited metabolic diseases in Spain, setting up the country’s first trials of the heel-prick test for newborn infants. In 1975, he co-founded the Centre for Molecular Biology (CBM) in Madrid, one of southern Europe’s pioneering research institutions. During his mandate as director-general of the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO from 1987 to 1999, and afterwards, Mayor contributed to crucial initiatives that shaped international educational and scientific policies. He has died aged 90.