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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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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…

Have you ever wondered how animals and plants get their names? People give them names, lots of different names! That was how it used to be before Carl Linnaeus created the world of taxonomy.

Have you ever wondered how an image is seen by your eyes, and how your eyes can tell your brain what they are seeing? Learn all about how your eyes and brain work together to show you the world.Also in: Español | Français

Dr. Biology takes trip to visit Michael Berens, adjunct professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University and Senior Investigator at Translational Genomics Institute (TGen).
Life in the year 2050, what will it look like? Will it be the age of intelligent computers? Could this happen even sooner? Physicist and author Max Tegmark talks about the future of artificial intelligence and how it might impact biological life on this planet. Dr. Biology learns…

"Your home has termites" – is not something anyone wants to hear. But these insects are really important for our survival. Dr. Biology learns about these insects from entomologist, Barbara Thorn. It turns out that these critters are like tiny 'green machines' and one of the…

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?

Have you ever wished for a place on the Web where you could find quality science content that you can count on and trust? Your wish has been granted. Learn about the National Science Digital Library and all the projects and resources created just for science, technology, engineering and math. It…

Seeds activity

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…

An illustration of pea pods with different genes (yellow and green, and round and wrinkled)

Genetics Game

Play Garden Gene GeniusOur genes control much of how we look and who we are. But do you really know how genetics work? Take a moment to gather some genetic…
Brain tumor

Cutting Out Brain Tumors

Try out some of the new techniques that neurosurgeons are using to guide them during surgery.

an eye with an eyebrow

How Vision Works

Read How Do We See? and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

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.

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

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

Microorganisms cartoon illustration

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…

Wordsearch | Crossword
Bird puzzle

Feather Biology

Almost everyone has wished at one time or another to be able to fly like a bird. Just the thought of soaring above your city or town without any mechanical device gives us a reason to envy…

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Cloning Sheep

Cloning Ewe

What is cloning and do we have clones living among us today? The answers might surprise you or maybe we should say ewe.

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Monarch butterfly

Metamorphosis – Nature’s Ultimate Transformer

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:…

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