This is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear, so I thought there should be a place on the web to explain. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) runs six research sites across Europe where it carries out fundamental research and service in molecular biology. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is an academy for the life sciences, provides funding, and publishes five scientific journals. In short, EMBL is a research institute, while EMBO is an 
academy, funder and publisher. Admittedly, the organizations are related. Both are international organizations funded by member states. Both have their headquarters on the same site in Heidelberg, Germany. Just to complicate things, the Director of EMBO has a lab at EMBL and is considered part of the Director’s Research Unit of EMBL, even though the organizations are administratively and legally separate.
In short, EMBL is a research institute, while EMBO is an academy, funder and publisher
