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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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An interview with biologist Tina Wilson from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix Arizona. Listen in as Dr. Biology learns how cacti and other desert plants keep their cool.
Most of us don’t think of the sewers as an exciting place. But these and other waterways are where Rolf Halden is finding and solving many mysteries.

Imagine a world where animals have the capacity to show their natural behaviors and even engineer their own environments. For this episode, we're thrilled to have Danielle Wong, the Behavioral Enrichment and Animal Welfare Coordinator at the…

Tucked away inside steel-gray cabinets in the Life Sciences Building is a different kind of library known as the ASU herbarium. The stacks upon stacks of color-coded folders contain more than 210,000 plant specimens -- a kind of botanical history of Arizona and the world.

Biology, butterflies, and violin ballads are just a few of the things Dr. Biology talks about with ASU School of Life Sciences Professor Ron Rutowski.

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…

The Ugly Bug Contest has been part of the Flagstaff Festival of Science and Mt. Campus Science Day since 1997. Ask-a-Biologist is pleased to extend the contest to the world via the Web.

Remember your last paper cut, or the bad cold that had you coughing and blowing your nose? It was your immune system that was busy trying to make you better by battling the bacteria or virus that was attacking your body. How your immune system works is the discussion Dr. Biology has with…

a sun giving light to some plants

Snacking on Sunlight

Read Snacking on Sunlight and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

hand bones

Busy Bones

Explore the Bone Anatomy ViewerEver wonder what’s inside your bones? Here’s your chance to find out! Dissect a virtual bone and learn about…

Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)

Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

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

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.

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

Plants we use for medicine

Nature's Medicine

Medicinal plants come in all shapes and sizes. Probably some of the weeds growing in your yard, fields, or even cracks in your sidewalk are medicinal. Who knew there was a different kind of…

Wordsearch | Crossword
crystallography

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
Beetles puzzle piece

How Do Beetles Reproduce?

Every living thing must be able to reproduce and make offspring. Most of us are familiar with how humans and mammals make babies, but do all creatures reproduce in the same way? Do insects,…

Wordsearch | Crossword
Leafhopper

True Bugs

Not all insects are bugs, but all bugs are insects. How can this be? Learn about some particular insects that biologists call true bugs. Also in: Español…

Wordsearch | Crossword