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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.
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.
We study cooperation in humans a lot, but what about cooperation in... cancer? Learn how researchers are applying the same behavioral dilemmas experienced by people to the outcomes of cell cooperation.
Every so often, cicadas rise up from their quiet underground burrows to “sing” their best ballads. Aside from their sound, what do you know about the patient, musical lifestyle of these insects?
No, this episode is not about the rock band or the cute German car that people love. This show is about some curious insects that have very different relationships with ants. To be exact, this is about three species of beetles that either battle ants, live close by an ant colony, or in one case…
Television portrays the lives and work of forensic artists, but what is it like to really be a forensic artist? Are the tools you see on the big and little screen really used by the people who recreate the face of someone when there might only be a skull or parts of a scull to use as a starting…
Could fire be important for life on Earth? Would Earth be the same without fire? These are just a few of the many questions we have for fire researcher Stephen Pyne about fire and its role with life. Did we also mention his battle with a dragon? If you have a burning desire to…
If you had x-ray vision, where would you look first? Some of our biologists have looked inside of beetles to learn more about how they breathe and fly.
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…
Seeing DNA
Every living thing uses DNA as the instructions for life. But how can we be sure that something so small is actually there at all? Here is one experiment that you can do at home or school that…
Doctor Know
Play doctor in the 21st century! Practice modern medicine by examining all dimensions of the body, from organs to molecules, as…
Keys to the Ocean Game
Play the Keys to the Ocean Game
Our world is full of different plants, animals, bacteria, and other life. But how do we know which species is…
Nano Building
Play the Bionanoengineering Game
Basic building patterns can be used to think about how technologies are built at the nano-scale. Try your hand…
Skeleton Viewer
To explore the bones of the human skeleton, check out our Skeleton Viewer. Take a look further inside of a bone…
Beetle Dissection
The outside of beetles can be shiny, dull, or extremely colorful. But what is going on inside of beetles…