Doctors place Intrauterine Devices (IUD) in the bodies of some females to help prevent pregnancy. Learn about how these devices work and how long they’ve been around.
Ask A Biologist
Biology Stories
Explore the world of biology and meet some of our biologists. Here you can learn about the living world and find out what is so cool about biology that someone would do it for a living. Pick a story to read or listen to one of our podcast shows filled with guest scientists who share their experiences and passion for discovery.
Sometimes, despite trying really hard, a person is unable to get pregnant. Scientists and doctors have come up with ways to help. Learn about one of those methods, which is called in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
An interview with physicist Peter Vukusic. Dr. Biology gets the inside story about iridescent color, the science behind it, and believe it or not a link between science, surfing and snowboarding that you may not thought about.
City life can be stressfull for people, but what about for other animals? Learn what scientists found out about the effects of city life on the stress and health levels of birds.
The story of a frog's life in the rainforest can be one filled with danger. Some frogs are brightly colored and other blend into the forest. Do bright colors work better than dull colors for keeping a frog from being eaten?
Do you think math would be easier if the numbers were color coded? For people with synesthesia, remembering might be a bit easier due to differences in how their brains work. Synesthesia happens when senses—taste, hearing, smell, sight, or touch—that are normally not closely linked are experienced together.
Could these shy cats be living in Southern Arizona? Dr. Biology learns about these amazing animals from wildlife biologist Emil McCain. The two talk about the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project and how two long-time hunters became the biggest fans and supporters for Jaguar habitat.
Mud may look boring, but it has a lot more going than you might think. Some clays can kill bacteria, but exactly why they could wasn't clear. Scientists tested whether bacterial killing ability of some clays is due to the ions attached to them.
Mushrooms release billions of spores into the air each year. Could those spores help promote rain by seeding new rain clouds?
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.
Have you ever wondered how different animals are related? Marsupials like kangaroos live in Australia, but scientists think they may have traveled there from as far away as South America.
When you think of kangaroos, you may just think of a hopping furry creature that has a pouch... but there is so much more to learn about them. Let's jump into the lives of kangaroos.
How are some animals keeping cool and staying warm? Listen in as Dr. Biology talks with biologist Dale DeNardo and engineer and thermographic artist Arno Vlooswijk about thermoregulation. Could there be lessons for humans to learn from these animals?
Plateau Pikas are one of the 30 species of pika worldwide. All 30 species of pika are similar in appearance. They look like round balls of fluff about 6 inches long with prominent round ears and a small tail hidden under their fur.
Coronaviruses can cause the common cold, or worse infections, like COVID-19. Brenda Hogue studies how these viruses replicate and infect, and uses this information to try to make vaccines and other medicines.
Journey to the Tibetan plateau in China for an interview with conservation biologist Andrew Smith. Dr. Biology learns about a cute furry animal called a Pika and how it is the key to survival for many animals that live on the plateau.
Wheels are common in our lives but rare in nature. A larval tiger beetle is one of the few animals in the world that turns into its own wheel to help it move along sandy beaches.
Mom might have told you that video games would rot your brain, but scientists are finding ways to use video games to make your brain stronger. This is especially true when it comes to treating vision disorders like a "lazy eye."
There is an endless march going on in the rainforest, as tiny farmers collect food to bring back to their fungus. Join us in the rainforests of Panama as we take a closer look at the life of the leafcutter ant.
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 they spent studying what have come to be called Darwin’s finches.