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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.
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…
Nine months – that’s about the amount of time that healthy babies develop before they are born. But what if that nine months is a bit more flexible, and can change in response to the environment?
Biologist Bruce Hammock talks about life as a biologist, being a businessman and mountain climbing. How do these all fit together? Listen in as Dr. Biology learns how these pieces all work together in an interesting career.
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,…
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…
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.
Can a transformed 4-acre former citrus orchard become a vibrant urban wildlife sanctuary? Dr. Biology is out of the studio to explore Julie Stromberg's remarkable riparian garden. Julie, a plant ecologist and emeritus professor at Arizona State University, shares her motivations…
Scientific Method
Read Using the Scientific Method to Solve Mysteries and then take this quiz to test your knowledge!
Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)
Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)
Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.
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.
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.
Desert Fruits Rock!
Desert flowers do not own the spot light when it comes to beauty. Many desert fruits deserve equal attention.Also in: Español |…
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Collecting Ants
There are several different ways to get ants for an ant farm, depending on when you would like to start the farm and how long you would like for your ant farm to last.
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True Bugs
Not all insects are bugs, but all bugs are insects. How can this be? Learn about some particular insects that biologists call true bugs. Also in: Español…
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The Tale of the Two-Headed Lampropeltis getula californiae
A Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae, but this snake was anything but common. From the title of our story, you may have guessed that our snake, or maybe we should call it snakes…
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