Towards an\u2028 EU research and innovation policy agenda for nature-based solutions & re-naturing cities. Final report of the Horizon 2020 expert group on nature-based solutions and re-naturing cities.

1. Nature-based solutions harness the power and sophistication of nature to turn environmental, social and economic challenges into innovation opportunities. They can address a variety of societal challenges in sustainable ways, with the potential to contribute to green growth, 'future-proofing' society, fostering citizen well-being, providing business opportunities and positioning Europe as a leader in world markets. \u2028 2. Nature-based solutions are actions which are inspired by, supported by or copied from nature. They have tremendous potential to be energy and resource-efficient and resilient to change, but to be successful they must be adapted to local conditions. \u2028 3. Many nature-based solutions result in multiple co-benefits for health, the economy, society and the environment, and thus they can represent more efficient and cost-effective solutions than more traditional approaches. \u2028 4. An EU Research & Innovation (R&I) agenda on nature-based solutions will enable Europe to become a world leader both in R&I and in the growing market for nature-based solutions. For this, the evidence base for the effectiveness of nature-based solutions needs to be developed and then used to implement solutions. Both need to be done in conjunction with stakeholders. The potential for transferability and upscaling of solutions also requires further investigation. There is also a need to develop a systemic approach that combines technical, business, finance, governance, regulatory and social innovation. \u2028 5. Four principal goals have been identified that can be addressed by nature-based solutions: �� Enhancing sustainable urbanisation through nature-based solutions can stimulate economic growth as well as improving the environment, making cities more attractive, and enhancing human well-being. \u2028 �� Restoring degraded ecosystems using nature-based solutions can improve the resilience of ecosystems, enabling them to deliver vital ecosystem services and also to meet other societal challenges. \u2028 �� Developing climate change adaptation and mitigation using nature-based solutions can provide more resilient responses and enhance the storage of carbon. \u2028 �� Improving risk management and resilience using nature-based solutions can lead to greater benefits than conventional methods and offer synergies in reducing multiple risks. \u2028 6. Based on the four goals, seven nature-based solutions for R&I actions are recommended to be taken forward by the European Commission and Member States: �� Urban regeneration through nature-based solutions \u2028 �� Nature-based solutions for improving well-being in urban areas \u2028 �� Establishing nature-based solutions for coastal resilience \u2028 �� Multi-functional nature-based watershed management and ecosystem restoration \u2028 �� Nature-based solutions for increasing the sustainability of the use of matter and energy \u2028 �� Nature-based solutions for enhancing the insurance value of ecosystems \u2028 �� Increasing carbon sequestration through nature-based solutions \u2028This report was produced by the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on 'Nature-Based Solutions and Re- Naturing Cities', informed by the findings of an e-consultation and a stakeholder workshop. \u202

Biomimetics from practical feedback to an interdisciplinary process

We would like to thank all the students and professionals that have given time and energy for this project. We also would like to specifically thank Kristina Wanieck and the CEEBIOS members for their time, inputs and precious feedbacks on the FMEA used in this article.Biomimetics has been a subject of increasing interest but, where it has proven its scientific relevance and innovative potential from a theoretical standpoint, it remains rarely used in practice. Facing this lack of implementation, our work aimed at asking practitioners for their help to better understand the remaining impediments preventing biomimetics’ blooming. Thus, practitioners’ feedback and experts’ opinion on risks, adequacy and weaknesses of the current biomimetic practices were gathered and structured to present an extensive descriptive phase on biomimetic processes. Key levers for improvements, such as the need for a better risk management, the need for biological expertise and the need for clear guidance during the process, were then identified. Based on these insights various methodological contributions are prescribed. Among these inputs, the duration of the various steps of the biomimetic process was estimated through industrial projects’ feedback, semantics misunderstandings were tackled, and the integration of a new transdisciplinary profile combining an expertise in both design and biology is proposed. From these improvements, a new version of the unified problem-driven biomimetic process is proposed. A final descriptive phase performed through the evaluation of the new process by professionals underlined its relevancy along with the remaining research axes. Through the integration of a new profile matching the practitioners’ current needs and the adaptation of the process to their feedback, this article aims at proposing a biomimetic process fitting the reality of biomimetic practice in order to support its implementation

Design processes and multi-regulation of biomimetic building skins: A comparative analysis

Biomimetics is an opportunity for the development of energy efficient building systems. Several biomimetic building skins (Bio-BS) have been built over the past decade, however few addressed multi-regulation although the biological systems they are inspired by have multi-functional properties. Recent studies have suggested that despite numerous tools and methods described in the literature for the development of biomimetic systems, their use for designing Bio-BS is scarce. To assess the main challenges of biomimetic design processes and their influence on the final design, this paper presents a comparative analysis of several existing Bio-BS. The analyses were carried out with univariable and multivariate descriptive tools in order to highlight the main trends, similarities and differences between the projects. The authors evaluated the design process of thirty existing Bio-BS, including a focus on the steps related to the understanding of the biological models. Data was collected throughout interviews. The univariate analysis revealed that very little Bio-BS followed a biomimetic design framework (5%). None of the Bio-BS was as multi-functional as their biological model(s) of inspiration. A further conclusion drawn that Bio-BS are mostly inspired by single biological organisms (82%), which mostly belong to the kingdom of animals (53%) and plants (37%). The multivariate analysis outlined that the Bio-BS were distributed into two main groups: (1) academic projects which present a strong correlation with the inputs in biology in their design processes and resulted in radical innovation; (2) public building projects which used conventional design and construction methods for incremental innovation by improving existing building systems. These projects did not involve biologists neither a thorough understanding of biological models during their design process. Since some biomimetic tools are available and Bio-BS have shown limitations in terms of multifunctionality, there is a need to promote the use of multidisciplinary tools in the design process of Bio-BS, and address the needs of the designers to enhance the application of multi-regulation capabilities for improved performances

Caractérisation d'une lignée de souris invalidées pour le récepteur des androgènes dans le cerveau, par la technique Cre-loxP

Master de Sciences et Technologie Mention Biologie Intégrative et Physiologie Spécialité Neuroscience

Caractérisation d'une lignée de souris invalidées pour le récepteur des androgènes dans le cerveau, par la technique Cre-loxP

Master de Sciences et Technologie Mention Biologie Intégrative et Physiologie Spécialité Neuroscience

Etude de l implication du récepteur des androgènes dans les réponses neuroendocrines et comportementales chez le Mâle, par une approche de mutagénèse conditionnelle

La testostérone (T) joue un rôle essentiel dans la différenciation sexuelle périnatale et l activation adulte de nombreux circuits du système nerveux (SN). Dans le SN, elle peut soit agir directement via le récepteur des androgènes (AR) soit activer indirectement les récepteurs des œstrogènes (ER) après son aromatisation en oestradiol. L importance relative de ces deux voies de signalisation dans les effets de la T reste controversée. Nous avons généré des souris invalidées pour l AR dans le SN en utilisant le système de mutagenèse conditionnelle Cre-loxP. Ces mutants conditionnels ont un tractus urogénital complet et sont fertiles, mais ont des taux circulants de T et de LH très élevés, mettant en évidence le rôle de l AR dans le rétrocontrôle négatif de l axe gonadotrope. La motivation (latence du comportement copulatoire) et la performance sexuelles (durée de l accouplement, activité érectile), ainsi que le comportement agressif sont affectés. Ces altérations se manifestent malgré une préférence olfactive et une activation neuronale normales après exposition à des phéromones femelles. A des niveaux équivalents en T (castration et supplémentation de T), les différences de phénotype entre mâles contrôles et mutants sont plus importantes (Raskin et al., 2009). L expérience sexuelle ne permet pas de restaurer les déficits du comportement sexuel. De plus, ces souris présentent une altération de la différenciation sexuelle du système spinal innervant les muscles du périnée, pouvant contribuer à l hypofertilité et aux dysfonctions érectiles. Ce modèle murin représente une opportunité inédite pour étudier l implication de l AR dans la différenciation sexuelle du SN par la TPARIS-BIUSJ-Physique recherche (751052113) / SudocSudocFranceF

Le projet urbain régénératif : un concept en émergence dans la pratique de l’urbanisme

International audienceL’urbanisme organise et transforme l’espace par la pratique du projet, qu’ordonnent des choix d’aménagement sur un territoire. Plusieurs initiatives de recherche et de pratique de l’urbanisme projet visent à explorer l’intégration du fonctionnement des écosystèmes naturels dès la conception des projets. Cependant les processus d’urbanisation restent une cause centrale de la dégradation des écosystèmes. Le « regenerative design » propose une meilleure compréhension du site pour, associé à un processus participatif et en amélioration continue, aboutir à des projets avec des impacts positifs mutuels à la société et aux écosystèmes, permettant leur coévolution. Au travers de différents outils jusque-là publiés, la mise en pratique du regenerative design montre des résultats préliminaires à l’international, mais sa prise en compte en France reste superficielle. Dans cette recherche, nous explorons l’origine et la pratique contemporaine du regenerative design, nous mettons en parallèle cette théorie avec d’autres courants de l’urbanisme durable et écologique, et finalement nous identifions les cinq principes théoriques d’un projet urbain régénératif, afin de proposer une définition à ce terme

Reconnecting neighbourhoods with ecosystem functioning: Analysis of solutions from six international case studies

International audienceUrban design organises and transforms the space, reflecting human context on cities' shape. Since modernism, designers draw urban projects with the goal to improve cities performances based on a mechanistic worldview, in which living systems are almost not considered. This paradigm led to urbanisation that is prominent in ecological process simplification and biodiversity loss. Different emerging urban design frameworks engage with the challenge of integrating ecological information on the design of sustainable urban projects, using this knowledge to guide intervention choices. With a growing application in practice, as through regenerative design and biomimicry, there is still a lack of knowledge on how ecological urban projects operationalise their engagements. We explored this question with a case study approach, generating hypotheses on the topic. We identified that projects focus on reducing human pressures over the ecosystems instead of regenerating the ecosystem's structure. Furthermore, projects mainly deal with energy and material flows. We identified a taxonomy of 36 urban strategies that could inform new design tools. Finally, we argue that the ecosystem biophysical structure needs to be better addressed on urban projects, and that projects would benefit from better articulation between solutions to reduce human pressures with those regenerating the ecosystem state