Read our stories
Listen and watch
Enjoy our activities
View zoom galleries
Solve puzzles
Welcome to Ask A Biologist. This site has a large collection of biology learning materials that includes stories, games, activities, videos, and a podcast.
What is gene editing? And how does the one of the most-used gene editing tools, called CRISPR, work? Also in: Español
Ants doing math? Could this be possible? Stephen Prattt from the ASU School of Life Science gives Dr. Biology a lesson about ant problem solving.
The race is on. It is one where biologists and citizen scientists are working as quickly as possible to find and identify all the species on Earth before some go extinct. It might not seem like an important race, but we learn from entomologist Kelly Miller that not knowing what…
The Ugly Bug Contest has been part of the Flagstaff Festival of Science and Mt. Campus Science Day since 1997. Ask-a-Biologist is pleased to extend the contest to the world via the Web.
It's time to jump into the topic of us, or what makes you, you. Dr. Biology connects with Irene Gallego Romero via Zoom to talk about nature versus nurture and some of the amazing things our genome does for us. If you are wondering what a genome is, no worries, they cover that in…
An interview with biologist Gro Amdam, one of the members of the group that brought us the bee genome. Hey just what is a genome and could bees hold the answer to aging? In this show we learn the answers to these questions and why researchers are buzzing around bees.
What can evolution teach us about getting sick and how do we make use of what we are learning? Dr. Biology gets over a cold while visiting with Randy Nesse, Founding Director of the ASU Center for Evolution & Medicine. The two talk about why we get sick and some of the…
For hundreds of years, scientists have explored life on Earth with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Doing research was either in the laboratory, or out in the field. But in recent years exploring our planet has taken to the air. Dr. Biology gets to spend some time with ecologist …
It’s a Plankton Eat Plankton World
During this activity you will learn how to create your own food web. You will also analyze the feeding relationships between marine organisms and describe the importance of plankton to the…
Cell Parts Game
Explore the Cell Viewer Game Cells are the basic building blocks of life, but what all do cells hold? You can now look inside of cells to learn more…
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.
Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)
Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
Pollen Gallery (Pollen up-close)
Pollen comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
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
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
Bats
Like humans, bats are mammals. They are warm-blooded, covered in hair, have live young, and nurse their young (called pups). Unlike humans, bats have wings, which allow them to fly.Also in:…
Wordsearch | Crossword
How to Find What You Need on the Internet
Searching for things on the Internet can be like hunting for a needle in a large haystack. Just how large is the Internet?
Wordsearch | Crossword