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

Not all insects are bugs, but all bugs are insects. How can this be? Learn about some particular insects that biologists call true bugs. Also in: Español

Every living thing must be able to reproduce and make offspring. Most of us are familiar with how humans and mammals make babies, but do all creatures reproduce in the same way? Do insects, like the beetle, give birth to little insects? Also in:…

An interview with arachnologist Norman Platnick. Learn about the animal that has become famous through his Marvel Comics and movie action hero.

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…

Cooperation is something that humans and animals are known to do. It turns out that the 30 trillion cells in our body also need to cooperate. Like some humans, there are cells that are cheaters when it comes to cooperation. They do not do their share of the work and cause a lot of other problems.…

Have you ever wished for a place on the Web where you could find quality science content that you can count on and trust? Your wish has been granted. Learn about the National Science Digital Library and all the projects and resources created just for science, technology, engineering and math. It…

An interview with biologist David Pearson, an author and expert on tiger beetles. Did you know that tiger beetles can run so fast that they go blind and just what would it be like to be hunted by these tiny, but ferocious animals? These are a few of the questions that we learn…

An interview with biologist Gro Amdam, one of the members of the group that brought us the bee genome. Hey just what is a genome and could bees hold the answer to aging? In this show we learn the answers to these questions and why researchers are buzzing around bees.

small bugs on sticks

True bugs

Read True Bugs and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Microbes cartoon

Microbes

Microbes: The Good, the Bad, The Ugly takes you on comic book journey inside the human body where there are both good and bad bacteria and viruses.

an ant farm

Ant Farm

Read Ant Farm and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

A logo with a brightly colored coral and the letters EcoChains below it.

EcoChains: Coral Futures

EcoChains: Coral Futures

In EcoChains: Coral Futures, your mission is to build and protect a thriving coral reef ecosystem. You’ll build your reef…

Beetle Dissection

Beetle Dissection

Explore the Beetle Dissection

The outside of beetles can be shiny, dull, or extremely colorful. But what is going on inside of beetles…

Human skeleton game

Skeleton Viewer

Explore the Skeleton Viewer

To explore the bones of the human skeleton, check out our Skeleton Viewer. Take a look further inside of a bone…

A colorful DNA helix, three Cas9 proteins, and a handful of florescent markers.

Cracking CRISPR

Play Cracking CRISPR

DNA is the key to life, so it's no wonder that we've been working to crack the code. With the tool CRISPR Cas9, we'…