Looking for the legacy site? Click here

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

Read our stories

Listen and watch

Enjoy our activities

View zoom galleries

Solve puzzles

A Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae, but this snake was anything but common. From the title of our story, you may have guessed that our snake, or maybe we should call it snakes, had two heads.

The life and work of Gregor Mendel has some surprising pieces. Known as the father of genetics, his work was mostly unnoticed for 30 years after he published his famous paper. It is also possible this famous scientist suffered from test anxiety.Also in:…

Let’s take a ride. It is going to be a fast one, so be prepared. Where are we going? We are going to start at your head and end up at your toes. It may not seem like a long trip, but it is going to be fast. It may be the shortest and fastest trip of your life. Are you ready? Let’s begin.Also…

Dr. Biology learns how birds might have developed their ability to fly from ornithologist Ken Dial. The two talk about the evolution of bird flight and some of the other cool things birds can do - like are penguins really flying birds?
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.…
Yes! You can do science at home and in your classroom. Biologist Melissa Wilson walks you through a fun experiment with proteins.

Dr. Biology interviews research scientist Kate Ihle at Barro Colorado Island in Panama. BCI is part of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

An interview with, biologist, movie maker, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Bert Hölldobler. Venture into the world filled with amazing facts and feats by an animal that will remain a mystery... at least until you listen to the clues at the beginning of this episode and make…

a cartoon of a human and some animals showing internal body parts

Animal Physiology

Read Focusing on Physiology and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Zoomed in picture of bug

Ugly Bug Contest 2012

Vote in the 2012 Ugly Bug Contest!

Learn about the peppered moth

Picking off the Peppered Moth

Play the Peppered Moths GameGet your beaks ready, it's moth-hunting time. In the Peppered Moths Game, you take on the role of the hunter and learn at…

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

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

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

Plankton 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.

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.

Two green salamanders

He Ain't Tasty He's My Brother

While cannibalism is fairly common among insects and crustaceans, most backboned animals avoid feeding on their own kind.

Wordsearch | Crossword
Time traveling seeds

Time Traveling Plants

Every year billions of babies are dried and buried, not to be unburied for weeks, months, years or even decades. Don't worry, these are not babies like your little brother or sister, these are…

Wordsearch | Crossword
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…

Wordsearch | Crossword
Large Ants

Face to Face with Ants

Imagine being the size of an ant. Be careful - a face-to-face encounter with an ant would be scary and potentially life-threatening! But, if you avoided being eaten, you could learn a lot about…

Wordsearch | Crossword