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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.
March Madness in the past has been reserved for college basketball. But in 2013, biologist Katie Hinde and a group of scientists, writers, and other creative souls started the ultimate animal competition that expanded beyond humans – March Mammal Madness. Don’t worry, the competition is virtual. No…
Changing careers can be a challenge. It can also be rewarding. And for some people it is an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream. This is the case for John Truong who has been an artist and animator on some of the popular movies produced by Pixar, DreamWorks, and Disney. While…
The largest biome on Earth is also one of the least explored. Come take a look in the mysterious ocean, a watery world that is home to organisms of all kinds.Also in: Français | Español
For biologist Kate Ihle the rainforest holds the secret of her favorite insect. Wearing their their irredesent greens and blues, orchid bees are slowing sharing their story of life in the jungle. Also in: Nederlands | Español
Beyond viral cat videos and the millions of cute pictures of our feline friends found on various social media channels, these four-legged animals might help us to better understand science. At least my guest thinks they can give us some insights into the world of bile acids, digestion, cholesterol…
What is life and how do biologists decide if something is living or non-living? Dr. Biology visits with physicist Paul Davies and microbiologist Ferran Garcia-Pichel. They talk about life, extreme life forms (extremophiles), and the possibility of life on other…
Dr. Biology sits down to learn from two of the best science journalists in the world. Listen in as he gets some pointers from Pauline Davies and Robyn Williams.
There are many types of relationships that exist in the living world. This episode dives into one special relationship that an insect has with some tiny microbes. It is a life and death story that microbiologist John McCutcheon has been exploring. Dr. Biology gets the…
Dr. Biology's Virtual Pocket Seed Experiment
Dr. Biology has been busy working on a new experiment and he needs your help. He has collected so much information from the experiment that he needs someone to analyze the data. All the results…
Using the Scientific Method: The Case of the Mystery Images
Play The Case of the Mystery ImagesLooking for another detective assignment? Practice all the new detective skills you learned in the…
It’s a Plankton Eat Plankton World
During this activity you will learn how to create your own food web. You will also analyze the feeding relationships between marine organisms and describe the importance of plankton to the…
Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)
Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)
Pollen comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)
Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.
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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Sea Urchins Do Research
No, urchins are not indigenous to the desert. The usual home for Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is the ocean's rocky floor for grazing along the intertidal and subtidal areas. Also in:…
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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.…
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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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