The philosophy of chemistry

Although chemistry is by far the largest scientific discipline according to any quantitative measure, it had, until recently, been virtually ignored by professional philosophers of science. They left both a vacuum and a one-sided picture of science tailored to physics. Since the early 1990s, the situation has changed drastically, such that philosophy of chemistry is now one of the most flourishing fields in the philosophy of science, like the philosophy of biology that emerged in the 1970s. This article narrates the development and provides a survey of the main topics and trends.     

The regulation of clinical chemistry in Slovenia

The practice of medical biochemistry in Slovenia includes clinical biochemistry (including toxicology, therapeutic drug monitoring, endocrinology, molecular diagnostics, immunology), hematology and coagulation. To start the vocational medical biochemistry training programme it's necessary to have a completed university degree (second cycle) in pharmacy, chemistry, biochemistry, medicine or other relevant university study and 1 year supervised practical training in medical laboratories, completed with mandatory state exam at Ministry of Health. The duration of vocational training programme is 4 years and is completed with final exam. The title after passed final examination is Medical biochemistry specialist. In October 2005 EC4 (Communities Confederation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine) approved Equivalence of standards of Slovenian national standards for medical biochemistry specialists. Since 2006 it is mandatory to be registered and to have valid license for medical biochemistry specialists and other professionals in laboratory medicine with at least university degree (second cycle) of education. Laboratory medicine in Slovenia is regulated globally through the Law of health-care activity and particularly through the Bylaw of laboratory medicine. The latter is based on standard ISO 15189, ratified in 2004. The Bylaw envisages granting working license to laboratories, valid for 5 years period. Granting of working licenses is ongoing process and first licenses have been granted in 2009. Important improvement toward the quality requirements for medical laboratories can be observed in the last 5 years. Parallel with the Bylaw of medical laboratories, Slovenian Accreditation (SA), the legal national accreditation body, started the initiative for accreditation of medical laboratories according to ISO 15189. It is in the implementation phase.     

The chemistry of the stratosphere and its pollution

In recent years, there has been growing concern about the possible consequences—for health and climate—of the depletion of the ozone in the atmosphere by the cumulative effects of aerosol propellents and the exhaust fumes of supersonic aircraft. This review shows that while the basic chemical reactions involved are relatively simple, the assessment of their consequences demands fuller knowledge of atmospheric processes and of the biological effects of prolonged exposure to intensified ultraviolet radiation.     

The 2010 Benjamin Franklin medal in chemistry presented to Joanne Stubbe

For pioneering studies demonstrating that ribonucleotide reductases transform ribonucleotides into deoxyribonucleotides by an astonishing free-radical mechanism and for her unprecedented achievements in the study of complex biological systems through innovative chemical and spectroscopic methods.