A 'heavy hammer to crack a small nut'? The creation of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), 1963–1970.
This article reconstructs the complex diplomatic negotiations that led to the peculiar organization of molecular biology at the European level, by focusing in particular on the establishment of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), the intergovernmental structure founded in 1969–70 to su...
| Published in: | Annals of Science Vol. 83; no. 1; pp. 174 - 222 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jan-Apr2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=191578191&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 191578191 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00033790 7J1 jtl: Annals of Science issn: 00033790 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jan-Apr2026 vid: 83 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 191578191 10.1080/00033790.2024.2351511 ppf: 174 ppct: 48 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 905KB tig: atl: A 'heavy hammer to crack a small nut'? The creation of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), 1963–1970. aug: au: Cassata, Francesco affil: Department of Antiquities, Philosophy, History (DAFIST), University of Genova, Genova, Italy Centro interdisciplinare "B. Segre", Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy su: Molecular biology Conferences & conventions Kendrew, John C. Science & state Europe sug: subj: Europe Molecular biology Conferences & conventions Kendrew, John C. Science & state keyword: European integration European molecular biology conference (EMBC) European molecular biology organization (EMBO) European science policy ab: This article reconstructs the complex diplomatic negotiations that led to the peculiar organization of molecular biology at the European level, by focusing in particular on the establishment of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), the intergovernmental structure founded in 1969–70 to support the scientific program of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). By combining the analysis of the informal decision-making kept in the Nobel Prize laureate John C. Kendrew's personal papers (Oxford) with the in-depth exploration of the institutional documentation available in the EMBO and CERN archives (Heidelberg and Geneva) and the Swiss Federal Archives (Bern), the article sheds light on the importance of the EMBC not only for the construction of molecular biology as a scientific, social, and political field in the European context, but also for the broader process of definition of the European research policy. Far from being just a mere replica of CERN, the EMBO/EMBC inaugurated in fact an alternative and flexible 'bottom-up' model of science policy in the European context, based on competition, networking, and scientific excellence, which paved the way to the establishment of the European Research Council (ERC) in the early 2000s. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Annals of Science is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Annals of Science holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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