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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.

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There are so many types of ants that it's funny the animated movie about them centers on one type that doesn't exist: a male worker ant. In this story you can explore some of the types of ants you can find in the southwestern United States.

Imagine you are on a sailing ship in 1747. You left England only a couple of months ago and you felt fine. Now you are so tired you can barely walk. Dr. Lind wants to discover what is causing you so much pain that you can't work.

2016 Ugly Bug video

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

The life of a biologist may not be what you expect. It is not all white lab coats and microscopes. There are remote islands, makeshift shacks that serve both for sleeping and a field laboratory. For this guest, it also includes cricket serenades and nighttime scuba dives in the ocean filled with…

Could these shy cats be living in Southern Arizona? Dr. Biology learns about these amazing animals from wildlife biologist Emil McCain. The two talk about the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project and how two long-time hunters became the biggest fans and supporters for Jaguar…

If you are a tobacco plant, you have a bad reputation. The link to cancer and other health related diseases is cause for any person to avoid you. But there is another side to this plant. Dr. Biology sits down with biologist Charlie Arntzen to talk about how tobacco plants are…

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.
An illustration of different cell sizes and a ruler, to measure nuclear cytoplasmic ratios

Cell Size SIM

Play the Cell Size SIMCertain cell types should have a general size and have proportionate parts. But what if those sizes and proportions are different than…

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.

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

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

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.

Tree lizard puzzle

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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Orchid bee

Bee Jeweled

Orchid bees come in an amazing array of shapes and colors. You could call them the jewels of the bee kingdom. Also in: Nederlands |

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Half human, half animal eye

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,…

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Darwin and Mendel's Afternoon Tea

Darwin and Mendel's Afternoon Tea

An imaginary conversation between two great thinkers, Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel. While the monk, Mendel, had read Darwin’s publications - Mendel's work only came to be known later. We…

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