Ask A Biologist Podcast

Imagine a David and Goliath battle between a tiny desert-dwelling ant and a monster robot. What can we learn from these two unlikely characters? Dr. Biology gets the chance to talk with biologist Rüdiger Wehner about his amazing study subject, Cataglyphis fortis, and his robot incarnation. Did we mention these ants do geometry? Maybe you could use one as a tutor. If you have not already, please  s...

Do you remember playing with mud as a child? Maybe you still do enjoy making a mud pie or two. It turns out that mud—or to be correct, clays—show promise for treating and maybe curing some diseases. Listen in as co-host Marissa Henderson and Dr. Biology learn more about the amazing properties of some clays from microbiologist Shelley Haydel . If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podca...

Pollen and sneezing go together like spring and fresh flowers in bloom. And even though pollen gets a bad reputation, it is actually a powerful tool in crime scene investigation (CSI), as well as anthropology, underwater archeology, and oil and coal exploration. Dr. Biology gets a chance to visit with palynologist Vaughn Bryant (born: October 5, 1940 – died: January 30, 2021 ) to learn more about...

It can start with a paper cut, or bruise, sometimes, it might be a cold or the flu that triggers your body's defense and repair system. Listen in as Dr. Biology and Co-host Ramon Santos from Paul Lawrence Dunbar Elementary learn more about how our bodies can repair themselves even while we sleep. Guest biologist Doug Lake talks about body repair, our immune system, and how it might be used to...

On a hot summer day in the desert, temperatures are often hotter than 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). If the heat is not bad enough, there can be weeks and months without a drop of rain. How do desert plants like the Saguaro Cactus survive in such difficult conditions? Dr. Biology talks with Tina Wilson from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix Arizona. He gets the inside story behind plants that...

Hitting the road again, Dr. Biology checks out the Biological Division of the National Science Foundation. He visits with Dr. James Collins who is overseeing all the research funding for the biological area at NSF. Learn how your tax dollars are being used and the cool things that NSF funds that you may not have known about. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be n...

An exciting interview with physicist Paul Davies and microbiologist Ferran Garcia-Pichel who talk about life, extremophiles, and E.T. Listen in on this lively conversation and see if maybe, just maybe, we might have come from Mars. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.

Other than the rare chocolate-covered ant, why would we want to farm ants? Dr. Biology and his co-host Itzany Mendez from Dunbar Elementary School look into the lives of these interesting animals. The two talk with Ph. D. graduate student Rebecca Clark and learn some pretty cool things including how to build a slick ant farm using two music CD cases. If you have not already, please  subscribe to t...

Dr. Biology and his guest, taxonomist Diana Lipscomb , dive into the mystery of why coral reefs around the world are dying. With no untouched reefs left today, the possibility of losing this important marine life and habitat is real. Learn how taxonomy is being used to solve the mystery and possibly save these beautiful and important ecosystems. Watch: How El Niño impacts ocean temperatures and co...

Dr. Biology and his co-host Brian Varela from Dunbar Elementary School get a close-up view of bird feathers. The pair interview biologist Kevin McGraw an expert on animals coloration who studies birds to unlock their secrets. They learn about the many ways birds use their feathers. What they find out might surprise you. After listening to this episode be sure to take a look at the companion articl...

You may not know the name or how it works, but iridescent color is common in Nature. From butterflies to birds and even fish you can see examples of these eye-popping colors. Dr. Biology sits down with physicist Peter Vukusic to talk about iridescence and the science behind these spectacular colors. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes...

Dr. Biology and his co-host Taylor Cheatham from Dunbar Elementary School explore some of the more unusual plants of the desert and beyond. The pair interview biologist Raul Gutierrez , who has been studying Devil's Claw. If that's not a wickedly cool name, what is? There's even talk of some plants eating insects--let's hope they don't get an appetite for larger animals. I...

What would have happened if poor Miss Muffet had not been frightened away by the spider that sat down beside her? Dr. Biology talks with two scientists that certainly were not frightened away by spiders. Listen in as biologists Eileen Hebets and Lisa Taylor talk about their passion for these cool creatures. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new...

World expert arachnologist Norman Platnick (born: December 30, 1951 – died: April 8, 2020 | age 69) sits down with Dr. Biology to talk about his favorite eight-legged animal. Sometimes scary to people, learn what the world might be like without spiders and if the current action hero Tobey Maguire is actually afraid of the animal who made him famous. If you have not already, please  subscribe to th...

Dr. Biology visits with two young mathematicians that also have a love for biology. Cassie Pawling and Genevieve Toutain talk about how their passion for numbers has blended with biology as well as how they have gotten where they are and future plans. Be sure to listen in to learn some great math tricks you can use to impress friends and family, including some mind-boggling mind reading. If you ha...

An interview with biologists WEI Fuwen from the Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences and Andrew Smith from the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. Just how are the pandas of China doing? Dr. Biology finds out the answer from his two guests, along with what happens when a baby panda falls out of a tree. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you ca...

Join the conversation with Dr. Biology and two leading Arizona bird experts. Biologist Dave Pearson and Audubon Environmental Educator Cathy Wise let us in on these amazing animals. After listening to these two birders, as they call themselves, you will want to try out birding yourself. Did we mention the Philippine Monkey-eating Eagle? Let's just say, be glad you're not a monkey living...

When you think of the comic character, the Hulk, you think BIG—and that's what Dr. Biology does in this episode. He learns about a building-sized instrument being used by a group of scientists. This monster instrument is called a synchrotron and is an important part of the XM2 microscope that is being built to look inside cells in a new way. Find out how biophysicist Gerry McDermott connected...

Dr. Biology travels to the National Center for X-ray Tomography in Berkeley California to learn about a new microscope being built by cell biologist Carolyn Larabel l and a team of scientists that provides a new way to look inside cells. Using a building-sized instrument called a synchrotron for its light source the XM2, as it is called, uses x-rays to look inside cells In fact, it is so new it is...

An interview with some of the people behind the National Science Digital Library, a place on the Web where you can find science content that you can count on and trust. In this episode, Dr. Biology attends the annual NSDL conference to learn more about this program and related projects. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.

Lights, camera, action! Well, it may not be a Hollywood movie, but there's a lot to be learned by filming bees. In this episode, Dr. Biology talks with bee movie maker and neurobiologist Brian Smith . Listen in as the two talk about bees, Bee Movie, and even take a trip inside a beehive to check out what is buzzing. You can also check out our companion profile story on Brian Smith's rese...

An interview with physicist and nanobiologist Stuart Lindsay , professor in the departments of Chemistry and Physics at Arizona State University. Dr. Lindsay is also the Director of the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics at the Biodesign Institute at ASU. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.

An interview with microbiologist Ferran Garcia-Pichel , Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. Listen in as Dr. Biology finds out that describing something as a "cup of dirt" may not be the best choice of words. If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.

What happens when good cells go bad? In this program, Dr. Biology talks with cell biologist Michael Berens about cells and why they sometimes go bad. Could it be the genes, and if it is a genetic breakdown, could the new world of translational genomics hold the key to new treatments? If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.

Fire and life - what do they have in common? It turns out there is more to fire than just the glow of the flame. Stephen Pyne,   emeritus professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, gives Dr. Biology a lesson in fire and how it has shaped life on Earth. Learn more: Are Wildfires Bad? If you have not already, please  subscribe to the podcast so you can be notified about ne...