"Denaturing nature" can refer to two main concepts: the biochemical process of denaturation, which alters the structure of proteins and nucleic acids, and a philosophical concept explored by thinkers like Levi Bryant, which involves understanding nature as encompassing both the natural and social worlds, and challenging traditional, often hierarchical, views of nature.


1. Biochemical Denaturation:

• In biochemistry, denaturation is the process where proteins or nucleic acids (like DNA) lose their native, folded structure due to factors like heat, radiation, acids, or solvents.
• This loss of structure can lead to a loss of the molecule's biological function, as the shape is crucial for its activity.
• For example, cooking an egg denatures the proteins in the egg white, causing them to coagulate and solidify. 

2. Philosophical Denaturing of Nature:

• In a philosophical context, "denaturing nature" can refer to a perspective that challenges the traditional view of nature as something separate from and often superior to human culture.
• Levi Bryant, for example, proposes a post-Galilean/Post-Darwinian understanding of nature as encompassing everything, including the social and cultural, and recognizing its inherent contingency, historicity, and creative capacity, according to Space Studios, according to Larval Subjects ..
• This view challenges the use of nature as a justification for social hierarchies and oppression by recognizing that social structures are themselves part of nature.
• It suggests that societies are ecologies dependent on the broader natural world and that social identities are natural constructions or inventions.