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Welcome to Ask A Biologist. This site has a large collection of biology learning materials that includes stories, games, activities, videos, and a podcast.

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Tardigrades are some of the toughest animals on earth. They can survive freezing, drying up, radiation, and space, all while being smaller than the tip of a pencil.

We hear the word ecosystems in the news and at school but just what are ecosystems? It turns out there are lots of ecosystems. You might even learn you have some inside you! Also in: Français | Español…

Dr. Biology interviews research scientist Kate Ihle at Barro Colorado Island in Panama. BCI is part of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

The 2013 Ugly Bug Contest has come to an end and all the clues point to a single suspect.

Dr. Biology takes a bite into the world of food science with scientist Christy Spackman from the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. The two venture into the realms of taste, smell, and texture. There is talk of…

Not what you might think - the study of some grasses might unlock some important understanding to many areas of science including treatments for cancer. Dr.Biology talk with Stan Feath, professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University and learns what secrets…
There is an endless march going on in the rainforest, as tiny farmers collect food to bring back to their fungus. Join us in the rainforests of Panama as we take a closer look at the life of the leafcutter ant.

The public has decided. Congratulations Orthoptera, you have earned your 008 status.

a line of puzzles with sheep on them

Cloning

Read Cloning Ewe and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

a girl looking at some puzzle pieces that have different ecosystems

Ecosystems

Read I Spy an Ecosystem and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

hand bones

Busy Bones

Explore the Bone Anatomy Viewer

Ever wonder what’s inside your bones? Here’s your chance to find out! Dissect a virtual bone and learn…

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

Pollen comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.

Bone Zoom Gallery (Up-close Inside Bones)

Take a look at the microscopic world of bone in our virtual bone histology lab. Just pick a microscope slide from below and click on it to view under the virtual microscope.

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

Large Ants

Face to Face with Ants

Imagine being the size of an ant. Be careful - a face-to-face encounter with an ant would be scary and potentially life-threatening! But, if you avoided being eaten, you could learn a lot about…

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Ants in nest

Ant Farm

Farming ants might sound like a crazy thing to do unless you might like to eat chocolate covered ants. It turns out we can learn a lot from ants and the best way is to build your own ant farm.…

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Ants carrying puzzle pieces

Collecting Ants

There are several different ways to get ants for an ant farm, depending on when you would like to start the farm and how long you would like for your ant farm to last.

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Digger Bees

Desert Diggers

The digger bee is just one of about a thousand species of native bees in Arizona, many of which have females that burrow into the ground with their jaws and legs when constructing a nest.

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