Scientific organizations in Spain (1950-1970): social isolation and international legitimation of biochemists and molecular biologists on the periphery

Through a study of Spanish scientific organizations and the involvement of Spanish scientists in international ones, the beginnings of biochemistry and molecular biology in Spain are explored. The centre-periphery dichotomy is useful in explaining the progress of the establishment of these disciplines, together with the political context, both national and international, in which such establishment took place. It is suggested that international ties and national support are both necessary, but not sufficient conditions to overcome the distance between the Spanish scientific community and the centres of development and productivity in biochemistry and molecular biology. The interplay between both national and international factors has proved to be crucial. As a tool to study the whole scientific community of biochemists and molecular biologists, scientific societies allow us to analyze the role of that interplay in Spanish scientific development.