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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.
Little water, sweaty, hot summer days and frigid winter nights make the desert an uninviting place for most animals and plants. But hiding just below the surface, the desert is alive with microbes—tiny, living things too small to see without magnification.Also in:…
An interview with biologist Dave Pearson research professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University and Audubon environmental educator Cathy Wise. Dr. Biology learns from his two guests that bird watching is pretty cool and fun.
No, this episode is not about the rock band or the cute German car that people love. This show is about some curious insects that have very different relationships with ants. To be exact, this is about three species of beetles that either battle ants, live close by an ant colony, or in one case…
Welcome to an exciting journey that takes you through the wild and fascinating world of zoos. Our guest for this episode is none other than Bert Castro, the President and Chief Exective Officer of the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation.…
This is the story of wild rabbits, humans, and a virus that might lead to a treatment for cancer. It is also a lesson about learning from history and how a virus that is deadly to some rabbits could become a new cancer-fighting tool for humans. Twice humans moved wild rabbits from Europe to other…
Dr. Biology has a chance to learn some interesting things about exploring for new species from biologists Vicki Funk and Richard Pyle from the Smithsonian Institute and the Bishop Museum. This episode might just put the explorer bug into your head.
Honey bees use a waggle dance to communicate the location, distance and quality of a flower to other bee workers. But what does this dance actually look like?
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…
Epic Mosquito Quest
Play Epic Mosquito QuestMosquitoes go beyond annoying, to being downright dangerous at times. How can you reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home, to protect…
Skeleton Viewer
Explore the Skeleton ViewerTo explore the bones of the human skeleton, check out our Skeleton Viewer. Take a look further inside of a bone with our…
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.
Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)
Pollen 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.
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…
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Secrets of a Superorganism
Ants are everywhere - they thrive in forests, fields, deserts, and cities all over earth. But what is the secret behind their success? Like humans, ants are social. They live and work together…
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Migrating Monarchs
Thousands of orange and black shapes flutter through the trees. Welcome to one of the few wintering homes of the monarch butterfly. Also in: Español…
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An Invisible Watery World
When you visit a pond or the beach, what kinds of living things do you see in the water? Depending on the environment, you might find fish, frogs, crabs, insects, seaweed, or lily pads. Don’t…
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