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After the establishment of the Mexican Social Security Institute, medical research developed beside health care activities. Since 1962, the journal Revista Médica del IMSS was formally edited and in 1963 the Central Office for Medical Education and Research was created. The production of the journal Archivos de Investigación Médica, in Spanish started in 1970, which in 1992 was transformed into Archives of Medical Research, in English. In 1981, an administrative structure for the research carrier was designed including 6 categories, and after the conception of the National System of Investigators (1984), by 1985, 77 IMSS researchers were recognized as national researchers. In 1986, 93 % of the scientific papers were published in national journals, five years later, more than a third of the publications were international, and from year 2000 this percentage doubled. Through the years decentralization and diversification occurred, with promotion of research on health systems and strengthening of clinical research. Today, the institutional research capacity comprises Biomedical Research Centers as well as Research Units on clinical epidemiology, specific medical topics and epidemiology and health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper forms part of the research project: "Social representation of genetic research among the scientific community and the urban population in Buenos Aires. Its influence in the bioethics dialogue," framed in the scientific program of the University of Buenos Aires for 2004-2008. Its objective is to inquire about the social imagery construct connected to technological and scientific achievements in genetics -considering the selection done by the media when informing the general population and the medical community- and to analyze how this construct determines health care social policies and other policies as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]