Ask A Biologist, a wonderful site where experts answer all your questions about biology:
This is a site aimed mostly at school kids and is devoted to providing the best scientific information available to anyone who is interested in any aspect of biology (the study of life) including palaeontology (the study of the history of life). But don't be put off; we accept questions from anyone who asks - whatever their age! We want to take you beyond the classroom - if you want to know more on any subject that interests you, then ask us and we will help you to find the answer.
Everything you see here is written by professional scientists who are experts in their own areas of interest. These people give up their free time to help you, so please use them to learn and enjoy science. Between us we work on dinosaurs, sea scorpions, ecology, human evolution, spiders, cell biology, evolution, birds, human and animal behaviour, human medicine, physiology, forests, conservation, genetics, fish, and plenty more besides.
We believe in being honest: if we (or science) as a whole do not know the answer, then we will say so. If there is a debate on the subject we will give you both sides of the argument and the reasons why we may favour one or the other. We want you to enjoy science and to be as excited about life on earth as we are. Simply send us a question and one of our experts will post a reply as soon as they can.
The site just got a big facelift and redesign to make it even better:
Ask A Biologist is back, bigger and better, to answer your questions about all things biological. We are a group of over 60 professional biologists; Ph.D. students, Post-docs, lecturers and professors, who volunteer to give their time to answer your questions. We have been around now for about 4 years now, and the site will get a brand new feel, the main thing will be that we will have increased 'user-friendliness' whereby people will be able to upload a photo of 'the green insect that is really interested in fallen fruit'. We are here to answer childrens' question about the natural world, and with biologists and palaeontologists with interests in many different areas, from insects and worms, to dinosaurs and birds, or trees and other plants, to embryos and evolution, and much more besides, we can help!
If you are a parent or a teacher who does not know the answer to a question, give us a go, we might be able to help. In fact, if you have a question, it does not matter how old you are, why not see if we can help. Answering your questions is the main thing that we do, but we also have a new blog section, where we will post exciting science stories. We also have our 'labcoat essays' where you can find out what we do as biologists, and we have the archive of all of the questions that we have answered since we began. Another new feature is that now you have the ability to respond to the answer we give to your questions. The only thing that we DO NOT DO, is answer your homework! Obviously there is a difference between the homework of a primary/elementary school child and that of a secondary school and college pupil, but as a rule, if it's your homework, you have to do it yourself.
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Arizona State University has a similar effort:
http://askabiologist.asu.edu/
Any relation? They were the ones at AAAS this year.
I dunno. The answers in my area (entomology) were often terrible. Incorrect, irrelevant, or both- the people answering them were outside their scope of expertise and ought to have just kept their mouths shut.
Ben, AAB.,org.uk is no relation to the ASU one, we just happened to have picked the same name as them. We weren't even aware of them till we found them on Google.
Alex, I don't know if you comment is directed to us or the ASU one, but in either case I'd suggest that rather than just criticising you could offer to help out. On AAB.org.uk we make an effort to be self-correcting and do change and correct our errors and ask colleagues and each other to try and proof answers etc. If you have spotted errors, you can let us know. We can't correct mistakes we don't know about.
After 20 yrs in the sports biz I went back to school and got my degree in biology in hopes of teaching sciences. But because of teacher cutbacks, my credentialing courses were canceled due to non enrollment. I was forced into the job market and got a biologist position with a water company. Now I feel like I don't know what I am doing and feel lost. How can I anticipate what to do....what should I be reading, studying? The boss gave me an 'HCP' to read and it is 4 inches thick. What kind of questions can I ask with out seeming like the biggest loser this company has ever hired? I have been on the job for 4 months and have been critisized on almost everything from my field notes to my data sheets to looking like a 'deer in the headlights.'
Any help will be appriciated.
Thanks,
JPW
I have a high school research project and one thing i must do is interview a professional on Global Warming.
I need to put info. on my page to explain who you are and then i have the Global Warming Questions.
What is your name-
Profession-
Job description-
job responsibilities-
Daily roles-
What made you consider this field of biological science-
Any other info-
Edward Strouse
Mr. Lewis
Biology II
19 May, 2010
Research Interview Questions
1.What is your opinion on the topic global warming?
2.What do you feel can be done to prevent global warming?
3.What is your view on factories wasting gases and polluting the air?
4.What would be a few actions you feel the government should make to help out?
5.What do you feel that will happen if we continue to use gas guzzling vehicles, planes, boats, etc?
6.Is Global Warming going to cause natural disasters to our planet in the near future?
7.Does the increasing population Increase Global Warming?
8.How long would it take to fix this kind of problem?
9.Do other countries outside of America do the same damage to the earth?
10.Can new up to date inventions cause a worse or better effect on our earth?
You can reach me at eddiestrouse@aol.com
Thank you for your help,
Edward Strouse