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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.
Elizabeth Pringle grew up in a family of biologists, but didn't think she would end up as a biologist until she fell in love with research.
Microbes are everywhere, but what are they? We get the inside story from microbiologist Valerie Stout about these tiny life forms including a slimy and gooey material many microbes make called biofilms. In fact, you have a daily encounter with biofilms and bacteria that can…
When you think of kangaroos, you may just think of a hopping furry creature that has a pouch... but there is so much more to learn about them. Let's jump into the lives of kangaroos.
Diving deep into the ocean is likely the most extreme place someone can set out to collect data, but sometimes that is what scientists need to do. In this show, Dr. Biology finds himself on board the research ship Atlantis in the floating laboratory of Colleen Hansel who is teaming…
There are many types of relationships that exist in the living world. This episode dives into one special relationship that an insect has with some tiny microbes. It is a life and death story that microbiologist John McCutcheon has been exploring. Dr. Biology gets the…
Changing careers can be a challenge. It can also be rewarding. And for some people it is an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream. This is the case for John Truong who has been an artist and animator on some of the popular movies produced by Pixar, DreamWorks, and Disney. While…
Forget all the robots you might have seen or imagined. This biologist is making colorful coiling snakes and other robots to study animals in the wild. Dr. Biology expands his idea of what robots look like and what they can do when he meets and talks with roboticist and biologist Talia Yuki…
There is more to our memory than you might think. In fact, we have three types of memory. Just how these memory systems work, and work together is the subject of this episode. We also learn that there are sometimes errors in our memory. Take a few minutes to learn how we remember things and even…
Epic Mosquito Quest
Mosquitoes go beyond annoying, to being downright dangerous at times. How can you reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home, to…
Mysterious World of Dr. Biology
Science is full of mysteries and unknowns waiting for you to discover. Beyond their usual research, there have been some unusual things happening in Dr. Biology's laboratory and they need your…
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.
Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)
Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.
Building Blocks of Life
All living beings are made up of cells. Some of them are made up of only one cell and others have many cells. Also in: Español |…
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Making Life Crystal Clear
Much like a mechanical watch, living things only work when all the gears work together. Some of the tiniest of gears are proteins. Learning about the shape and size of these proteins is the job…
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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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I Spy an Ecosystem
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:…
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