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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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A pregnant person's blood type is usually compatible with the fetus’s blood type. But what happens when that’s not the case?

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

It's a colorful world out there and Dr. Biology checks into the reason we see color and how animals use color. Listen in as Dr. Biology talks with Kevin McGraw animal behavior biologist in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.

Take a breath and breathe out. What you just exhaled is the subject of this podcast. It is a story of over 140 thousand molecules and what we are learning about them and what a single breath might tell us about our health. Dr. Biology catches up with bioanalytical chemist …

In the tiny world of DNA, we might call genomes monsters. These huge sets of information include all the codes for all the genes present in an organism. From genomes, we can learn about the traits, diseases, and evolution of a species, and that’s just a start. What might such a monster set of…

Natural history museums may not come to life as they do in a Hollywood movie, but they do have some amazing stories. They also have all kinds of cool stuff that many of us never get to see. Paleontologist Richard Fortey talks about the life and some of the treasures hidden…

Can a transformed 4-acre former citrus orchard become a vibrant urban wildlife sanctuary? Dr. Biology is out of the studio to explore Julie Stromberg's remarkable riparian garden. Julie, a plant ecologist and emeritus professor at Arizona State University, shares her motivations…

"Your home has termites" – is not something anyone wants to hear. But these insects are really important for our survival. Dr. Biology learns about these insects from entomologist, Barbara Thorn. It turns out that these critters are like tiny 'green machines' and one of the…

a fig and a wasp

Fig Wasps

Read Life and Death of a Fig Wasp and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Can you see DNA?

Seeing DNA

Every living thing uses DNA as the instructions for life. But how can we be sure that something so small is actually there at all? Here is one experiment that you can do at home or school that…

Bee Learning Lab

Visit the Bee Learning Lab Take a trip with us today into the Bee Learning Lab. Train bees in your very own experiment and see how you can make them learn faster or…
a line of puzzles with sheep on them

Cloning

Read Cloning Ewe and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

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.

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.

Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)

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

internet puzzle

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
Python

Perfect Python Parenting

Being a parent is hard work. Though a snake might not seem comforting to you, pythons are actually very dedicated moms that take good care of their kids.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
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