Terry Bradley, a URI professor of fisheries and aquaculture, said his research into the inhibition of myostatin, a protein that slows muscle growth, has obtained "stunning results" in the last two years, with trout growing 15 to 20 percent more muscle mass than standard fish.

The layer of sand on ocean floor is home to a large part of the vast diversity of marine species. Species representing almost all classes of marine animals live here. The genus Grania, which belongs to the class of annelid worms Clitellata, is one of them.

The Interior Department announced Friday that it won't list sage grouse as endangered or threatened but will classify the bird among species that are candidates for federal protection.

The finding is good news for the wind energy and oil and gas industries, which will still face scrutiny in grouse habitat but will have more leeway than if the bird were listed.

The oviposition behaviour of insect pests results in an improved durability of insect resistance in so-called Bt-crops, while promoting the survival of pest insects elsewhere in nature. This is the result of research carried out by the Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen University (The Netherlands) in collaboration with the University of North Carolina (USA).

The desert-nesting bald eagles of central Arizona are the only bald eagles in the United States still receiving protection as members of the endangered-species list.

That protection may soon end. A motion filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked the court to end the temporary protection it has imposed for nearly two years.

The Aphidius matricariae wasp of the Ichneumon family was widely used to get rid of plant lice in greenhouse agriculture up to fifteen years ago. Since then, it has given way to its American cousin, Aphidius colemani. A comparative study by Dutch Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture group has led to its re-introduction by Koppert, the market leader in organic pest control.

A Penn State biologist and his collaborators have developed a new method for tracking seed movement and germination. According to Tomás Carlo, assistant professor of biology at Penn State and the leader of the study, the technique will be useful for studying plant dispersal and how plants adjust to global climate change. The technique also will enable scientists to gather biological information about invasive plants that is critical to controlling their spread. The team's results appeared in the December 2009 issue of the journal Ecology.