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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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Nicholas Stephanopoulos works with tiny structures so small you can only see them by using powerful microscopes. Some might say he's a builder, but he actually gets the molecules to do the building themselves.

Let’s take a ride. It is going to be a fast one, so be prepared. Where are we going? We are going to start at your head and end up at your toes. It may not seem like a long trip, but it is going to be fast. It may be the shortest and fastest trip of your life. Are you ready? Let’s begin.Also…

In this program we talk a lot about cells. In particular plant, animal, and microbial cells. But did you know there is a world of microbes that make their home inside and on our bodies? Before you start to worry, you need to know most of these microbes are important for us to live. In fact, without…
We start off as a single tiny cell, and yet somehow we are born as whole humans. Get to know the stages of that process and how quickly we develop.

Dead men tell no tales, but their bones can. It just takes a particular kind of scientist to read the clues that tell the story. Dr. Biology sits down with guest Tony Falsetti, a forensic anthropologist who knows his way around a skeleton. They talk about the…

Microbes are everywhere, but what are they? We get the inside story from microbiologist Valerie Stout about these tiny life forms including a slimy and gooey material many microbes make called biofilms. In fact, you have a daily encounter with biofilms and bacteria that can…

Have you ever wondered how complex science jargon is translated into a story that captivates and educates? We've got you covered! Dr. Biology chats with James Gorman, a veteran science reporter from the New York Times, we peel back the layers…

An interview with microbiologist Shelley Haydel from the School of Life Sciences and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University by co-host Marissa Henderson. This episode gives you something to think about when it comes to mud and why we say science is…
a bird singing

Birds Hormones and Seasons

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

Monster game

Monster Maker

Play Monster MakerBuild your own monster by decoding the monster genome in Monster Maker, a DNA game. It is not very different from what happens in every…
An illustration of DNA-themed award winners

DNA Discovery Awards

Let's take a dive into the history of genetics research... and see who helped build the foundations of knowledge that we still build new understanding on top of today.

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.

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.

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

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

Bee with mites

Mite Mighty Foe to 'Killer' Bees in State

Africanized "killer" bees have fallen prey to a deadly predator of their own- parasitic mites whose infestation has dropped their wild colony numbers by as much as 70 percent statewide.

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Astronaut

Spaced Out Physiology

Being an astronaut is a cool job, but before you sign up you should know life in space isn’t all fun and games.  The lack of gravity can make our bodies act in strange ways.

Also in…

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Ants in nest

Ant Farm

Farming ants might sound like a crazy thing to do unless you might like to eat chocolate covered ants. It turns out we can learn a lot from ants and the best way is to build your own ant farm.…

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Two ants carrying a puzzle piece

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…

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