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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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Biologist Bruce Hammock talks about life as a biologist, being a businessman and mountain climbing. How do these all fit together? Listen in as Dr. Biology learns how these pieces all work together in an interesting career.

There is an endless march going on in the rainforest, as tiny farmers collect food to bring back to their fungus. Join us in the rainforests of Panama as we take a closer look at the life of the leafcutter ant.

What is a media artist doing developing games based on large science data sets? It turns out he is looking into how the planet ticks and also what David McConville calls global weirding. Listen as Dr. Biology learns how a media artist makes his home in the world of science,…

For biologist Kate Ihle the rainforest holds the secret of her favorite insect. Wearing their their irredesent greens and blues, orchid bees are slowing sharing their story of life in the jungle. Also in: Nederlands | Español

The evening news, your local paper, online websites, blogs, twitter, Facebook, and yes podcasts all are communicating the latest science news. In this mix of messages are often conflicting stories about what is good and bad for you. It also seems that every other day there is a cure for cancer or…

Imagine you want to pull a long cylinder-shaped piece of soil (called a core) out of the ground in your backyard. What kind of tools would you need? Find out how researchers collect cores in the Frozen Arctic.

Listen in as young women scientists, Farah Eltohamy, Amanda Benedetto and Sarah Sakha talk about their work and interview ASU biologist Susan Holechek. Pauline Davies hosts the show as Dr. Biology is exploring the Panama rainforest to bring back fun and exciting stories.

March Madness in the past has been reserved for college basketball. But in 2013, biologist Katie Hinde and a group of scientists, writers, and other creative souls started the ultimate animal competition that expanded beyond humans – March Mammal Madness. Don’t worry, the competition is virtual. No…
Zoomed in picture of bug

Ugly Bug Contest 2012

Vote in the 2012 Ugly Bug Contest!

an ant farm

Ant Farm

Read Ant Farm and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

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

Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)

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

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

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

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.

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
Half human, half animal eye

Seeing Color

Did you ever wonder why you see the colors you do or if other animals see the same colors that you see? We see light that bounces off of things around us. When the light enters our eyes,…

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
Large Ants

Face to Face with Ants

Imagine being the size of an ant. Be careful - a face-to-face encounter with an ant would be scary and potentially life-threatening! But, if you avoided being eaten, you could learn a lot about…

Wordsearch | Crossword