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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 arachnologist Norman Platnick. Learn about the animal that has become famous through his Marvel Comics and movie action hero.
You might think that people can be born only as either males or females. In fact, lots of people are born with a blend of male and female traits. We call this being “intersex,” and it happens more often than you may think.
Almost all of our cells contain identical copies of DNA. But wait...with the same instructions, shouldn't all cells look and function the same? Learn how our bodies use the same instructions to make all kinds of different cells.Also in:…
This animal lives in almost every part of the world and kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. What might surprise you is that you certainly have had a close encounter with the world’s most dangerous creature. Dr. Biology catches up with evolutionary biologist …
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.
Not everyone has been on a hike and very few have hiked with a park ranger. Dr. Biology hikes South Mountain Park with not one but two park rangers. Park Rangers Liz Smith and Justin Olson are our guides for the 2.5 mile trip up Holbert Trail. This episode…
When was the last time you folded a piece of paper to make a fun shape? Maybe you made a paper plane or tried origami to make a swan. Believe it or not, the building blocks inside your body also need to fold into the right shapes to work properly. In this activity, you can build your…
An interview with biologist Kevin McGraw. Dr. Biology and his co-host Brian Varela learn a lot about feathers and all the ways birds used them. This is a colorful and wild show that you will not want to miss.
Give It A Shot
Explore Give It A ShotAs our lives become more affected by viruses and bacteria that cause disease, how much does wearing masks and…
Monster Inheritance
In this lesson, with a few rolls of a die, our Monster Maker game, and a presentation, you will learn a bit about how traits are inherited. Explore the activities for the basics, or dive in further…
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.
Tiger Beetle Zoom Gallery (Up-close with tiger beetles)
Some of the fastest animals on Earth are below. That’s right, if these tiny insects were as large as a horse they would be running 200 miles an hour.
Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)
Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.
Spaced Out Physiology
Being an astronaut is a cool job, but before you sign up you should know life in space isn’t all fun and games. The lack of gravity can make our bodies act in strange ways.
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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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Mighty Morphing Tree Lizards
Biologists at Arizona State University hope that by learning more about animal behavior, they will also be able to understand why people act the way they do. Also in:…
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Making the List
By the time the first endangered species list was made, many species had already gone extinct. Some species, like whooping cranes, were almost extinct at that time. But the US…
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