Molecular biology began its eventful career in Argentina with the creation at the Malbrán National Institute for Microbiology of the first specially designed laboratories in 195 7. This was extremely early since the discipline was still in its international infancy and there were only a handful of groups worldwide working on topics that could be labelled as 'molecular biology From a latter-day perspective, molecular biology in Argentina is a particularly interesting example of the development of a new knowledge space in a peripheral context. Here, the elements common to various different disciplines in Argentina are as striking as the features typical of molecular biology, understood as the articulation of a socio-cognitive network interacting with local and international scientific traditions.
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