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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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Summer ice. Besides being cold and hard, it turns out to be critical for life on Earth. But what is it about this ice that makes it more important than other ice? Dr. Biology sits down with scientist Stephanie Pfirman to talk about summer ice and how the amount we see is shrinking…
Our biological sex affects the way we look in some obvious ways, like deciding what body parts we are born with. But, it also has effects on a range of other sexual traits that you might not expect.
Dr. Biology has a chance to learn some interesting things about exploring for new species from biologists Vicki Funk and Richard Pyle from the Smithsonian Institute and the Bishop Museum. This episode might just put the explorer bug into your head.

No two environments on Earth are the same. But with so many places to learn about, we often need to talk about some environments as a similar group rather than individually. For that, we have the brilliance of biomes.Also in: Français |

What happens when our brain fails us? As Dr. Biology, my work has never been involved with diseases that affect the mind, but I do have a personal experience with the shadowy realm of Alzheimer's and other dementias. My mother battled against this relentless adversary and I am not alone. …

An interview with myrmecologist Rüdiger Wehner from University of Zurich. Listen in as Dr. Biology learns how these desert animals are revealing their success in the Sahara Desert. Don't know what a myrmecologist is? This is a good show to find the answer.

Welcome to an exciting journey that takes you through the wild and fascinating world of zoos. Our guest for this episode is none other than Bert Castro, the President and Chief Exective Officer of the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation.…

A True Bug is triumphant in the Ugly Bug Contest 2010.

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.

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.

Feather Zoom Gallery (Feathers up-close)

There is nothing like seeing a feather up close.

Bird puzzle

Feather Biology

Almost everyone has wished at one time or another to be able to fly like a bird. Just the thought of soaring above your city or town without any mechanical device gives us a reason to envy…

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Sea Urchin

Sea Urchins Do Research

No, urchins are not indigenous to the desert. The usual home for Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is the ocean's rocky floor for grazing along the intertidal and subtidal areas. Also in:…

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Plants we use for medicine

Nature's Medicine

Medicinal plants come in all shapes and sizes. Probably some of the weeds growing in your yard, fields, or even cracks in your sidewalk are medicinal. Who knew there was a different kind of…

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Darwin and Mendel's Afternoon Tea

Darwin and Mendel's Afternoon Tea

An imaginary conversation between two great thinkers, Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel. While the monk, Mendel, had read Darwin’s publications - Mendel's work only came to be known later. We…

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