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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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Does being born a son or a daughter mean your reproductive success might be different? In some societies, it does. 

Almost all of our cells contain identical copies of DNA. But wait...with the same instructions, shouldn't all cells look and function the same? Learn how our bodies use the same instructions to make all kinds of different cells.Also in:…

What does it take to attract a mate? For some animals it requires some push-ups. Other animals have a dance. And in both cases showing off some color is important. Dr. Biology catches up with biologist David Clark to learn more about his lizards and the robot lizards he has built…

Searching for things on the Internet can be like hunting for a needle in a large haystack. Just how large is the Internet?

Television portrays the lives and work of forensic artists, but what is it like to really be a forensic artist? Are the tools you see on the big and little screen really used by the people who recreate the face of someone when there might only be a skull or parts of a scull to use as a starting…

What happens when you mix part Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson with biology? You get an adventure that has filled many lifetimes (bird lifetimes). Dr. Biology had the opportunity to sit down with Peter and Rosemary Grant to talk about the more than 30 years…

So you think zombies are only on television and in the movies, think again. Dr. Biology learns the details of a nasty fungus and something called the "death grip" from biologist David Hughes. It turns out there are real live, well maybe not live, zombies. The good news is this…

Step-by-step tutorial for building your own Pocket Seed Viewer. You can use it to test the effects of light, dark, temperature and gravity on seed germination and plant growth.

hand bones

Busy Bones

Explore the Bone Anatomy Viewer

Ever wonder what’s inside your bones? Here’s your chance to find out! Dissect a virtual bone and learn…

Cracking CRISPR

Play Cracking CRISPR

DNA is the key to life, so it's no wonder that we've been working to crack the code. With the tool CRISPR Cas9, we've been…

A world with some climate changes

Crazy Climate

Read Crazy Climate and Wacky Weather and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!

Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)

Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.

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.

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 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…

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Nerve impulse thumbnail

A Nervous Journey

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…

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Monarch butterfly puzzle

Migrating Monarchs

Thousands of orange and black shapes flutter through the trees. Welcome to one of the few wintering homes of the monarch butterfly. Also in: Español…

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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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