Switch to Gallery View

Image and Video Gallery

This is a searchable collection of scientific photos, illustrations, and videos. The images and videos in this gallery are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0. This license lets you remix, tweak, and build upon this work non-commercially, as long as you credit and license your new creations under identical terms.

Protein crystals

1060

Structural biologists create crystals of proteins, shown here, as a first step in a process called X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media

Yeast cells with nuclei and contractile rings

6792

Yeast cells with nuclei shown in green and contractile rings shown in magenta. Nuclei store DNA, and contractile rings help cells divide. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Fruit fly ovary_2

3656

A fruit fly ovary, shown here, contains as many as 20 eggs. Fruit flies are not merely tiny insects that buzz around overripe fruit--they are a venerable scientific tool. Denise Montell, University of California, Santa Barbara View Media

Zebrafish pigment cell

5754

Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington View Media

Cross section of a Drosophila melanogaster pupa

2758

This photograph shows a magnified view of a Drosophila melanogaster pupa in cross section. Compare this normal pupa to one that lacks an important receptor, shown in image 2759. Christina McPhee and Eric Baehrecke, University of Massachusetts Medical School View Media

dUTP pyrophosphatase from M. tuberculosis

2381

Model of an enzyme, dUTP pyrophosphatase, from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Drugs targeted to this enzyme might inhibit the replication of the bacterium that causes most cases of tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI View Media

Plasma-Derived Membrane Vesicles

5887

This fiery image doesn’t come from inside a bubbling volcano. Instead, it shows animal cells caught in the act of making bubbles, or blebbing. Jeanne Stachowiak, University of Texas at Austin View Media

Bond types

2519

Ionic and covalent bonds hold molecules, like sodium chloride and chlorine gas, together. Hydrogen bonds among molecules, notably involving water, also play an important role in biology. Crabtree + Company View Media

Nerve ending

1244

A scanning electron microscope picture of a nerve ending. It has been broken open to reveal vesicles (orange and blue) containing chemicals used to pass messages in the nervous system. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Group of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae

6770

Mosquito larvae with genes edited by CRISPR. Valentino Gantz, University of California, San Diego. View Media

Isolated Planarian Pharynx

3593

The feeding tube, or pharynx, of a planarian worm with cilia shown in red and muscle fibers shown in green View Media

RSV-Infected Cell

3567

Viral RNA (red) in an RSV-infected cell. Eric Alonas and Philip Santangelo, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University View Media

Hsp33 figure 1

3354

Featured in the March 15, 2012 issue of Biomedical Beat. Related to Hsp33 Figure 2, image 3355. Ursula Jakob and Dana Reichmann, University of Michigan View Media

Dying melanoma cells

6966

Melanoma (skin cancer) cells undergoing programmed cell death, also called apoptosis. This process was triggered by raising the pH of the medium that the cells were growing in. Dylan T. Burnette, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. View Media

Assembly of the HIV capsid

5729

The HIV capsid is a pear-shaped structure that is made of proteins the virus needs to mature and become infective. John Grime and Gregory Voth, The University of Chicago View Media

Arabidopsis leaf injected with a pathogen

2780

This is a magnified view of an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf eight days after being infected with the pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, which is closely related to crop pathogens that Jeff Dangl, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill View Media

Zebrafish larva

5881

You are face to face with a 6-day-old zebrafish larva. What look like eyes will become nostrils, and the bulges on either side will become eyes. Oscar Ruiz and George Eisenhoffer, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston View Media

Circadian rhythm (with labels)

2569

The human body keeps time with a master clock called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN. Crabtree + Company View Media

Mapping metabolic activity

2319

Like a map showing heavily traveled roads, this mathematical model of metabolic activity inside an E. coli cell shows the busiest pathway in white. Albert-László Barabási, University of Notre Dame View Media

Painted chromosomes

2764

Like a paint-by-numbers picture, painted probes tint individual human chromosomes by targeting specific DNA sequences. Beth A. Sullivan, Duke University View Media

Sheep hemoglobin crystal

2392

A crystal of sheep hemoglobin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media

Borrelia burgdorferi

1241

Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete, a class of long, slender bacteria that typically take on a coiled shape. Infection with this bacterium causes Lyme disease. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Computer model of cell membrane

2636

A computer model of the cell membrane, where the plasma membrane is red, endoplasmic reticulum is yellow, and mitochondria are blue. Bridget Wilson, University of New Mexico View Media

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide opioid receptor

3364

The receptor is shown bound to an antagonist, compound-24 Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Nucleolinus

2762

The nucleolinus is a cellular compartment that has been a lonely bystander in scientific endeavors. Mary Anne Alliegro, Marine Biological Laboratory View Media

Bioluminescent imaging in adult zebrafish - lateral and overhead view

3556

Luciferase-based imaging enables visualization and quantification of internal organs and transplanted cells in live adult zebrafish. Kenneth Poss, Duke University View Media

Active site of sulfite oxidase

2746

Sulfite oxidase is an enzyme that is essential for normal neurological development in children. John Enemark, University of Arizona View Media

Fly cells live

2315

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a movie worth? Denise Montell, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine View Media

Transmission electron microscopy of coronary artery wall with elastin-rich ECM pseudocolored in light brown

3738

Elastin is a fibrous protein in the extracellular matrix (ECM). It is abundant in artery walls like the one shown here. As its name indicates, elastin confers elasticity. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Cells use bubble-like structures called vesicles to transport cargo

3634

Cells use bubble-like structures called vesicles (yellow) to import, transport, and export cargo and in cellular communication. A single cell may be filled with thousands of moving vesicles.
Tatyana Svitkina, University of Pennsylvania View Media

Plasma membrane

2523

The plasma membrane is a cell's protective barrier. See image 2524 for a labeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media

Wound healing in process

3500

Wound healing requires the action of stem cells. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Brain cells in the hippocampus

3688

Hippocampal cells in culture with a neuron in green, showing hundreds of the small protrusions known as dendritic spines. Shelley Halpain, UC San Diego View Media

Fruit fly retina 02

2434

Section of a fruit fly retina showing the light-sensing molecules rhodopsin-5 (blue) and rhodopsin-6 (red). Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Math from the heart

3592

Watch a cell ripple toward a beam of light that turns on a movement-related protein. View Media

Precisely Delivering Chemical Cargo to Cells

3779

Moving protein or other molecules to specific cells to treat or examine them has been a major biological challenge. Nature Nanotechnology View Media

H1 histamine receptor

3360

The receptor is shown bound to an inverse agonist, doxepin. Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Mitosis - prometaphase

1331

A cell in prometaphase during mitosis: The nuclear membrane breaks apart, and the spindle starts to interact with the chromosomes. Judith Stoffer View Media

DDR2 Receptors Attach to Collagen in Breast Tumor

3478

On the left, the boundary of a breast tumor (yellow) attaches to collagen fibers that are closest to it (green) using DDR2. On the right, a tumor without DDR2 remains disconnected from the collagen. Callie Corsa and Suzanne Ponik, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis View Media

Protein involved in cell division from Mycoplasma pneumoniae

2377

Model of a protein involved in cell division from Mycoplasma pneumoniae. This model, based on X-ray crystallography, revealed a structural domain not seen before. Berkeley Structural Genomics Center, PSI View Media

Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 6

6593

Cell-like compartments that spontaneously emerged from scrambled frog eggs, with nuclei (blue) from frog sperm. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are also visible. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media

Human embryonic stem cells on feeder cells

3275

The nuclei stained green highlight human embryonic stem cells grown under controlled conditions in a laboratory. Blue represents the DNA of surrounding, supportive feeder cells. Julie Baker lab, Stanford University School of Medicine, via CIRM View Media

Cryo-electron tomography of a Caulobacter bacterium

6569

3D image of Caulobacter bacterium with various components highlighted: cell membranes (red and blue), protein shell (green), protein factories known as ribosomes (yellow), and storage granules Peter Dahlberg, Stanford University. View Media

Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 1

3789

The nucleolus is a small but very important protein complex located in the cell's nucleus. Nilesh Vaidya, Princeton University View Media

Small blood vessels in a mouse retina

3400

Blood vessels at the back of the eye (retina) are used to diagnose glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. They also display characteristic changes in people with high blood pressure. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Intracellular forces

2799

Force vectors computed from actin cytoskeleton flow. This is an example of NIH-supported research on single-cell analysis. Gaudenz Danuser, Harvard Medical School View Media

Cell-like compartments emerging from scrambled frog eggs

6587

Cell-like compartments spontaneously emerge from scrambled frog eggs, with nuclei (blue) from frog sperm. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are also visible. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media

PSI: from genes to structures

2363

The goal of the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) is to determine the three-dimensional shapes of a wide range of proteins by solving the structures of representative members of each protein family f National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Superconducting magnet

1120

Superconducting magnet for NMR research, from the February 2003 profile of Dorothee Kern in Findings. Mike Lovett View Media

Microfluidic chip

3265

Microfluidic chips have many uses in biology labs. Jeff Hasty Lab, UC San Diego View Media