Looking for the legacy site? Click here

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

Read our stories

Listen and watch

Enjoy our activities

View zoom galleries

Solve puzzles

David Pearson is a research professor in Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences. A speaker of five languages and capable of getting into trouble in maybe three or four other languages, he's traveled the world studying tiger beetles and recently published the book, A Field Guide to…

The open ocean is the largest biome on earth and it is the least understood. What undiscovered life might float in the dark, deep, depths of the sea?Also in: Français | Español

As scientists study the amazing social network of ants they are discovering we could learn a lot from these tiny animals. Dr. Biology and co-host Jane Rector visit with Jennifer Fewell, a biologist who is exploring the world of social insects including ants.…

There are so many types of ants that it's funny the animated movie about them centers on one type that doesn't exist: a male worker ant. In this story you can explore some of the types of ants you can find in the southwestern United States.

A True Bug is triumphant in the Ugly Bug Contest 2010.

A city saved and thanks to a last minute 100 Ugly Bug Contest votes, an amazing win for the Astonishing Treehopper.

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.

Do you need to run five miles every day to get in shape and be healthy? Dr. Biology has a chance to sit down after a workout session to talk about exercise and kids with metabolic biologist Gabriel Shaibi. What he and a group of researchers found might surprise you.
Brain tumor

Cutting Out Brain Tumors

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

A couple ants below some leaves

Ant Anatomy

Read Face to Face with Ants 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.

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.

Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)

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

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

Scorpion with laser beams

Not So Scary Scorpions

Scorpions are often misunderstood. Many people say that scorpions are so aggressive they will sting themselves to death, but this is not a natural behavior of scorpions in the wild. Also in:…

Wordsearch | Crossword
Digger Bees

Desert Diggers

The digger bee is just one of about a thousand species of native bees in Arizona, many of which have females that burrow into the ground with their jaws and legs when constructing a nest.

Wordsearch | Crossword
Wacky Weather

Crazy Climate and Wacky Weather

Climate is a hot topic in the news and on internet websites and blogs. But what exactly is climate? And how do we know it is changing?Also in:

Wordsearch | Crossword
Two-headed kingsnake

The Tale of the Two-Headed Lampropeltis getula californiae

A Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae, but this snake was anything but common. From the title of our story, you may have guessed that our snake, or maybe we should call it snakes…

Wordsearch | Crossword