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.

In Peru, how humans feel and what they know and do about sharks can have big consequences. How do human beliefs impact shark conservation?

The rainforest is the wettest biome on Earth and is home to half of all species.
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Every so often, cicadas rise up from their quiet underground burrows to “sing” their best ballads. Aside from their sound, what do you know about the patient, musical lifestyle of these insects?

Mutant robots with six arms and a mind of their own are stuff of science ficiton, right? Scientists are challenging that idea by creating robo-mutants in the lab and seeing how they evolve.

Forget all the robots you might have seen or imagined. This biologist is making colorful coiling snakes and other robots to study animals in the wild. Dr. Biology expands his idea of what robots look like and what they can do when he meets and talks with roboticist and biologist Talia Yuki Moore. This episode is part of a series of podcasts recorded at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference– also called SICB.

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.

Scientists study the science of basketball teamwork and how different networks can make the difference between winning and losing.

What is a media artist doing developing games based on large science data sets? It turns out he is looking into how the planet ticks and also what David McConville calls global weirding. Listen as Dr. Biology learns how a media artist makes his home in the world of science, biology, and and mountains of scientific data, which we call big data.

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.
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Is there life on other planets? Let’s take a look at how scientists are trying to solve this mystery.

To a new visitor, the savanna may look just like a grassland with a few trees. But if you spend some time in the savanna, you learn it is quite different from other biomes.Also in: Français | Español | Italiano | Deutsch

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 behind locked doors at natural history museums that are also part of his book Dry Store Room No.1.

Most of us don’t think of the sewers as an exciting place. But these and other waterways are where Rolf Halden is finding and solving many mysteries.

Ants are everywhere - they thrive in forests, fields, deserts, and cities all over earth. But what is the secret behind their success? Like humans, ants are social. They live and work together in highly organized societies called colonies.
Also in: Español

An interview with biologist Tina Wilson from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix Arizona. Listen in as Dr. Biology learns how cacti and other desert plants keep their cool.

You sleep every night, but do you know what happens when your body sleeps or why we sleep the way we do?

Robert Page's journey is as captivating as the creatures he studies. From his early fascination with entomology to his experiences in the Vietnam War and his parallel passion for photography, his journey is a rich tapestry of experiences. We chat about the contributions he has made to our understanding of honeybees and his books including his newest book The Art of The Bee. Tune in and join us in celebrating the incredible role these insects play in our ecosystem and the biologist who has dedicated his life to studying them.

How do seeds travel if they do not have legs to carry them? We can find one answer in primate poop.

Did you ever wonder why you see the colors you do or if other animals see the same colors that you see? We see light that bounces off of things around us. When the light enters our eyes, special cells tell our brains about the light.
Also in: Français

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