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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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How do animals keep warm when the temperatures drop? It is not like they can turn on heater or bundle up in a layers of warm clothes like humans do. Before you watch this video, try to think of ways animals might keep warm.

You might think of your parents as being old, or being fairly young; maybe they are many years apart in age. Did you know that parental age may affect the likelihood that a child will develop a brain disorder? 

What is cloning and do we have clones living among us today? The answers might surprise you or maybe we should say ewe.

Whether in the sands of the desert or the ice of Antarctica, viruses play a larger role in our ecosystems than you might realize. Arvind Varsani searches for these viruses, studying them in all kinds of habitats across the globe.

Imagine a world where animals have the capacity to show their natural behaviors and even engineer their own environments. For this episode, we're thrilled to have Danielle Wong, the Behavioral Enrichment and Animal Welfare Coordinator at the…

We peek behind the curtain of SICB and the band of scientists who are investigating the world of animal communication. Scientists Kim Hoke and Nate Morehouse sit down with Dr. Biology and talk about how the Spatio-temporal Dynamics in Animal Communication group…

An interview with biologist James Collins who is the person directing the biology section of the National Science Foundation. Listen in and learn about this important science funding agency.

When you visit a pond or the beach, what kinds of living things do you see in the water? Don’t let your eyes fool you… there’s a hidden world in water full of creatures too small to be seen!

some crystals of different colors with microscopic life on them

X-ray Crystallography

Read Making Life Crystal Clear and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Body Depot

Body Depot

Body Depot is a collection of activities and materials created in collaboration with with the Arizona Science Center. The Body Depot includes activities on DNA, proteins, bones, immune function…

grassland biome

Grasslands Biome

Read Grasping Grasslands and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

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

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

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.

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

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

Building Blocks of Life Illustration

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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Orchid bee

Bee Jeweled

Orchid bees come in an amazing array of shapes and colors. You could call them the jewels of the bee kingdom. Also in: Nederlands |

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jigsaw sail boat

Why Are English Sailors Called Limeys?

Imagine you are on a sailing ship in 1747. You left England only a couple of months ago and you felt fine. Now you are so tired you can barely walk. Dr. Lind wants to discover what is causing…

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Birds and their Songs

Birds and Their Songs

We see them practically everywhere. They are found flying in the high mountains and soaring along the thermal winds in the low deserts. There are those that are reclusive and others you can…

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