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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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Desert flowers do not own the spot light when it comes to beauty. Many desert fruits deserve equal attention.Also in: Español | Français

We celebrate Earth Day every year, but in reality every day is Earth day. For our part here are some fun activities and things you can do to help the Earth.

DNA is the ultimate how-to guide used by all living things. It packages all the instructions for building maintaining all our life forms and it easily fits inside a cell.Also in: Español

Are there really flesh-eating scarab beetles, or is it a movie myth? Dr. Biology and biologist Mary Liz Jameson talk about scarab beetles, dung, and even some insect recipes, minus the dung, for humans to try out for their next dinner or pot-luck.

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…

Dr. Biology takes a bite into the world of food science with scientist Christy Spackman from the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. The two venture into the realms of taste, smell, and texture. There is talk of…

Not everyone has been on a hike and very few have hiked with a park ranger. Dr. Biology hikes South Mountain Park with not one but two park rangers. Park Rangers Liz Smith and Justin Olson are our guides for the 2.5 mile trip up Holbert Trail. This episode…

Very strange things have been taking place lately. Dr. Biology and his team need your help to solve the mystery and piece together what's been happening in the lab.

Microbes cartoon

Microbes

Microbes: The Good, the Bad, The Ugly takes you on comic book journey inside the human body where there are both good and bad bacteria and viruses.

a cartoon of nerves

Nervous System

Read A Nervous Journey and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

nervous system in the body

A Nervous Experiment

Do you think you need the same number of nerves in every part of your body? Where in your body might you need more nerves? See for yourself! Also in:…

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.

Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)

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

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.

jigsaw sail boat

Why Are English Sailors Called Limeys?

Imagine you are on a sailing ship in 1747. You left England only a couple of months ago and you felt fine. Now you are so tired you can barely walk. Dr. Lind wants to discover what is causing…

Wordsearch | Crossword
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…

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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
A classroom Globe

Where In The World Is Kazakhstan?

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.

Wordsearch | Crossword