Read our stories
Listen and watch
Enjoy our activities
View zoom galleries
Solve puzzles
Welcome to Ask A Biologist. This site has a large collection of biology learning materials that includes stories, games, activities, videos, and a podcast.
The open ocean is the largest biome on earth and it is the least understood. What undiscovered life might float in the dark, deep, depths of the sea?Also in: Français | Español
Dr. Biology travels to the Tres Rios wetlands, a place where all types of living things can be found. He talks with local biologists about many of the species and also gets a chance to sit down and talk with Quentin Wheeler who is starting a new Institute that will be exploring…
Elizabeth Pringle grew up in a family of biologists, but didn't think she would end up as a biologist until she fell in love with research.
Transforming robots are favorites of television and movies, but nature has some of the best transformers. Animals that can change in ways that almost seem unbelievable. Also in: Español
Dr Biology sits down with well known science correspondent, Robert Krulwich (Radiolab), for a fun conversation about communicating science. The two talk about media, old and new, and maybe some that may not have been developed.
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?
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…
Love them or hate them, something is going on with male crickets on the island of Kauai. Once evenings filled with a chorus of these tiny singers has become strangely silent. Dr. Biology talks with biologist Marlene Zuk about how things are changing fast – maybe the fastest…
Manduca Caterpillar Growth Experiment
Dr. Biology has teamed up with with the scientists in the laboratory of Jon Harrison and started an experiment to see how different temperatures can change how an animal grows. The Virtual…
Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)
Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.
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.
Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)
Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
Seeing Color
Did you ever wonder why you see the colors you do or if other animals see the same colors that you see? We see light that bounces off of things around us. When the light enters our eyes,…
Wordsearch | Crossword
Ant Farm
Farming ants might sound like a crazy thing to do unless you might like to eat chocolate covered ants. It turns out we can learn a lot from ants and the best way is to build your own ant farm.…
Wordsearch | Crossword
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…
Wordsearch | Crossword
Making Life Crystal Clear
Much like a mechanical watch, living things only work when all the gears work together. Some of the tiniest of gears are proteins. Learning about the shape and size of these proteins is the job…
Wordsearch | Crossword