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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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.

Where in the world is Kazakhstan (Ka-zakh-ston)? This may be a puzzling question to some, but no longer. This story we will help put the pieces together.

If you think of the instruments used to study and explore the world of biology it is clear that most are visual.  So what if you cannot see? How would you understand the structure of – say a cell?   Dr. Biology discusses a new tool for learning about biology with newly graduated…

Extreme environments can be found on Earth, in space, and in the depths of the ocean. Dr. Biology and physiologist, astronaut, and mountain climber Scott Parazynski sit down and talk about what life is like to explore these environments. So hold on to your seat as we blast off…

This animal lives in almost every part of the world and kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. What might surprise you is that you certainly have had a close encounter with the world’s most dangerous creature. Dr. Biology catches up with evolutionary biologist …

During a plague year, locusts can swarm over 20 percent of the world’s landmass, affecting one out of every 10 people on the planet. Sounds bad – right? Enter biologist Arianne Cease who has been studying why these insects swarm and how to control them. Dr. Biology learns about…

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.
An interview with biophysicistGerry McDermott of the National Center for X-ray Tomography. Dr. Biology tours the synchrotron that is also called the giant monster. Dr. Biology learns how the football sized facility is used to power a new kind of microscope.
a bird singing

Birds Hormones and Seasons

Read Singing in the Rain and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Some fruits and food

What's GMO?

Read What's a GMO? and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Ugly Bug Contest 2014

2014 Ugly Bug Contest

Cell viewer game

Cell Parts Game

Explore the Cell Viewer Game

Cells are the basic building blocks of life, but what all do cells hold? You can now look inside of cells to learn…

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

Cell Size SIM

Play the Cell Size SIM

Certain cell types should have a general size and have proportionate parts. But what if those sizes and proportions are…

scorpion game

Venom!

Play the Venom! Game

The shape of a molecule is very important. It’s what makes it possible for proteins to interact with other parts of the cell. In…

bee dance

Bee Waggle Dance Game

Play the Bee Dance Game

Did you know that honey bee workers tell their sisters where to find the best flowers and nectar with a dance? It is called…