The dictionary defines biology as the study of living organisms. Biology is a very diverse field with many specialties, including zoology, botany, and genetics to name just a few. Fortunately, many interesting online resources are available for biology students of any age. Take a look at the following links to see what might be of interest to you.

Elementary Biology Lessons

1. Ant Farmers: You’ll never believe what ants grow on their “farms”.
2. Bats!: Interesting facts about these misunderstood mammals.
3. Breathing Is Essential to Life: A series of experiments to teach about respiration.
4. Carly’s Kids Corner: Interactive games and lessons about trees.
5. Celery Stalks at Midnight: An experiment to demonstrate capillary action.
6. Cool Science for Curious Kids: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute invites curious kids to explore biology… on screen, off screen, and in between.
7. Does the COLOR of Foods and Drinks Affect The Sense of Taste?: Lab results from experiments that have examined how color affects the way foods and drinks taste.
8. Exploring Caves: A series of lessons about caves. Includes discussions about bats.
9. Is all fat bad?: Answers the questions: What is fat? Why is it good for you? How does a fat cell function?
10. Laughter and the Brain: Discussion about laughter’s effects on the brain and body.
11. Neuroscience for Kids: Links to lessons about the brain and nervous system.
12. The Great Plant Escape: Help Detective LePlant find clues, do experiments, and solve problems as you journey into the world of plants.
13. What Became of Albert Einstein’s Brain?: The mystery of where the famous scientist’s brain went after he died and what did researchers discover after examining it.
14. Why do bees sting?: All about honey bees and how they interact in the hive.

Junior High Biology

1. Are Viruses Even Alive?: Everything you wanted to know about viruses but were afraid to ask.
2. Cell Models: Animated models of plant, animal, and bacteria cells.
3. Cells are the Starting Point: An introductory discussion on the purpose of cells.
4. Cells Are Us: An introduction of the levels of organization in living systems and cellular functions.
5. ChickScope: An overview of the 21-day chick embryological lifecycle
6. Chromosomes – Pull up Those Genes: Introduction to chromosomes.
7. DNA – The Double Helix: An interactive game to educate students about deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
8. DNA Fingerprinting: Discussions about DNA profiling and how it is performed.
9. How do sharks find their prey?: Overview of shark behavior and interesting facts about sharks.
10. Interactive Body Games: Online interactive games used to learn more about human anatomy.
11. Nocturnal Eye: Explores the differences between human eyes and those of nocturnal animals.
12. Supermarket Botany: An online quiz about common items found in the produce section of your grocery store.
13. The Demise of a Halloween Pumpkin: An experiment to measure the decay rates of carved and uncarved pumpkins.
14. Virtual Frog Dissection Kit: Interactively dissect a (digitized) frog named Fluffy.
15. Why do you need a liver?: All about the chemical factory in the human body that is called the liver.

High School Biology

1. Antibiotics Attack: A tutorial designed to give any student background information on antibiotics, their function, and their targets.
2. Blackett Family DNA Activity: Learn about DNA profiling and RFLP analysis by following the inheritance of DNA markers (alleles) from one generation to the next.
3. Dolphin Communication: Discussions regarding methods of communication by dolphins and other aquatic mammals.
4. How can biomechanics help an athlete?: Discussion about improving athletic performance through the use of biomechanical methods.
5. How do mushrooms reproduce?: An experiment to study asexual fungi reproduction.
6. How the Body Uses Fat: Describes the role of fat in the humans and how it is processed by the body.
7. InnerBody: Your Guide to Human Anatomy Online: An online guide to the major anatomical systems in the human body.
8. Karyotyping Activity: A simulation of human karyotyping using digital images of chromosomes from actual human genetic studies.
9. Mendel’s Pea Experiment: An interactive pea experiment where you can breed your own hybrid pea plants.
10. Online Onion Root Tips: Determining time spent in different phases of the cell cycle.
11. Penguin Adaptation: Discussions on how penguins have adapted to the Antarctic aquatic environment.
12. Steroids: Discussions on the need for athletes to take synthetic steroids.
13. The Heart: an Online Exploration: Discusses the development, structure, and function of the heart.
14. The Lungs and Pulmonary System: A video lecture discussing the human pulmonary system.
15. Virtual Fetal Pig Dissection: Explore the anatomy of a fetal pig through this online lab.

College Biology

1. Biology in Action: Series of biological animations from Iowa State University
2. BioQUEST: A community of scientists, teachers, and learners interested in supporting biology education that reflects realistic scientific practices.
3. BrainMass: Biology Help for College-level students
4. Free Online Biology Courses: Seven colleges offering university-level biology courses.
5. Gene Boy: A simple, multifunction DNA sequence analysis tool from the Dolan DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
6. iBioSeminars: A freely available library of research seminars by leading scientists
7. Online Biology Book: A resource from Estrella Mountain Community College
8. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man: A comprehensive, authoritative, and timely compendium of human genes and genetic phenotypes from Johns Hopkins University
9. Sea Urchin development: A multimedia sea urchin embryology tutorial from the University of Wisconsin.
10. Stem Cell Therapies Today: Examples of current and experimental therapies using human stem cells.
11. The Electrical Activity of Neurons: Describes the electrical interactions between brain cells.
12. Virtual Biology 101 Lab: Online lab exercises for an introductory college biology course.
13. Virtual Cardiology Lab: Act as a “virtual intern” to study heritable diseases of the heart.
14. Virus Triangulation Numbers: A brief description of the notion of triangulation numbers (T numbers) as used in virology.