Welcome to Ask A Biologist. This site has a large collection of biology learning materials that includes stories, games, activities, videos, and a podcast.

When you think of hummingbirds, you may think about how they can fly in almost any direction. But there is a lot more to these acrobatic birds than meets the eye.Also in: Deutsch | Türk

Periods are a natural, normal part of life, and many people around the world experience them. So let’s talk about why and how they happen.

Does being born a son or a daughter mean your reproductive success might be different? In some societies, it does. 

Pierre Deviche's love for the outdoors led him to doing field research on the timing of breeding in birds.

In the tiny world of DNA, we might call genomes monsters. These huge sets of information include all the codes for all the genes present in an organism. From genomes, we can learn about the traits, diseases, and evolution of a species, and that’s just a start. What might such a monster set of…

Summer ice. Besides being cold and hard, it turns out to be critical for life on Earth. But what is it about this ice that makes it more important than other ice? Dr. Biology sits down with scientist Stephanie Pfirman to talk about summer ice and how the amount we see is shrinking…

Dr. Biology sits down with biologist E. O. Wilson to talk about science, his writing including his book, Superorganism, and future new novel, as well as his art. Along the way they discuss the Encyclopedia of Life web project and a very cool outdoor activity called a "Bioblitz…

We hear a lot about DNA, but not as much about RNA. It is true that DNA is the encyclopedia of life or the ultimate instruction manual for living things. But what good is a book if it is not read or an instruction manual that is not used? This is where RNA comes into the story of life. It is the…

Two ants on leaves under the title Ant Farm

Build an Ant Farm

Have you ever watched ants going into and out of their nest, and wondered what was going on underground? It’s pretty hard to find out from the surface. If you dig up the nest, the ants get…

an eye with an eyebrow

How Vision Works

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

Rainforest virtual biome tour

Virtual Reality Tours of Biology

Explore our Virtual Tours

See the world of biology through virtual tours. Visit different environments, travel through…

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

Genetics Game

Play Garden Gene Genius

Our 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…

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…

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…

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…