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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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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…

Building Your Own Ant Farm (Part 2 of 2). Ask A Biologist video with Dr. Biology and Rebecca Clark on how to build an ant farm with recycled CD cases. Watch part one.

An interview with biologist James Collins who is the person directing the biology section of the National Science Foundation. Listen in and learn about this important science funding agency.

Food fit for a king or maybe a local pot-luck dinner. These six-legged recipes will be sure to have everyone talking. In some cases, you might end up the buzz of the meal.

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…

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…

Imagine you want to pull a long cylinder-shaped piece of soil (called a core) out of the ground in your backyard. What kind of tools would you need? Find out how researchers collect cores in the Frozen Arctic.

Part of what makes science fun and challenging is solving puzzles and investigating mysteries. For this episode, Dr. Biology sits down with ecologist Charles Brown and the two talk about his 40-year journey of discovery and rediscovery. This is a curious story that involves an…

A cartoon illustration of a mosquito biting human skin

Epic Mosquito Quest

Play Epic Mosquito QuestMosquitoes go beyond annoying, to being downright dangerous at times. How can you reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home, to protect…
puzzle pieces with beetles on them

Beetles

Read How Do Beetles Reproduce? and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Zoomed in picture of assassin bug

Ugly Bug Contest 2010

Ugly Bug Contest 2010

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.

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.

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

Pollen close up

Pollen - Nature's Tiny Clues

Most might be surprised that pollen is being used to catch thieves, illegal drug dealers, murders, terrorists, and even catching those who commit less visible crimes such as making and selling…

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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Monarch butterfly

Metamorphosis – Nature’s Ultimate Transformer

Transforming robots are favorites of television and movies, but nature has some of the best transformers. Animals that can change in ways that almost seem unbelievable. Also in:…

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Itty Bitty Beasts

Itty Bitty Beasts

Tardigrades are some of the toughest animals on earth. They can survive freezing, drying up, radiation, and space, all while being smaller than the tip of a pencil.

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