Reconnecting with nature for sustainability

Calls for humanity to ‘reconnect to nature’ have grown increasingly louder from both scholars and civil society. Yet, there is relatively little coherence about what reconnecting to nature means, why it should happen and how it can be achieved. We present a conceptual framework to organise existing literature and direct future research on human–nature connections. Five types of connections to nature are identified: material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical. These various types have been presented as causes, consequences, or treatments of social and environmental problems. From this conceptual base, we discuss how reconnecting people with nature can function as a treatment for the global environmental crisis. Adopting a social–ecological systems perspective, we draw upon the emerging concept of ‘leverage points’—places in complex systems to intervene to generate change—and explore examples of how actions to reconnect people with nature can help transform society towards sustainability

SURF1, encoding a factor involved in the biogenesis of cytochrome c oxidase, is mutated in Leigh syndrome

Leigh Syndrome (LS) is a severe neurological disorder characterized by bilaterally symmetrical necrotic lesions in subcortical brain regions that is commonly associated with systemic cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency. COX deficiency is an autosomal recessive trait and most patients belong to a single genetic complementation group. DNA sequence analysis of the genes encoding the structural subunits of the COX complex has failed to identify a pathogenic mutation. Using microcell-mediated chromosome transfer, we mapped the gene defect in this disorder to chromosome 9q34 by complementation of the respiratory chain deficiency in patient fibroblasts. Analysis of a candidate gene (SURF1) of unknown function revealed several mutations, all of which predict a truncated protein. These data suggest a role for SURF1 in the biogenesis of the COX complex and define a new class of gene defects causing human neurodegenerative disease

تحليل الاجهادات القديمة لحواف اليمن البركانية

International audienceThe western part of Yemen is largely covered by Tertiary volcanics and is bounded by volcanic margins to the west (Red Sea) and the south (Gulf of Aden). The oligo-miocene evolution of Yemen results from the interaction between the emplacement of the Afar plume, the opening of the Red Sea and the westward propagation of the Gulf of Aden. Structural and microtectonic analyses of fault slip data collected in the field reveal that the volcanic margins of Yemen are affected by three main extensional tectonic events. The chronological order of these events is as follows: first E-W extension was associated with the emplacement of volcanic traps of Yemen, then NE-SW extension was related to the Red Sea rifting and finally the volcanic margin was submitted to N160°E extension, perpendicular to the overall trend of the Gulf of Aden, that we interpret as induced by the westward propagation of the oceanic ridge of the Gulf of Aden