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.

The Structure of Cilia’s Doublet Microtubules

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Cilia (cilium in singular) are complex molecular machines found on many of our cells. Brown Lab, Harvard Medical School and Veronica Falconieri Hays View Media

Dicty fruit

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Dictyostelium discoideum is a microscopic amoeba. A group of 100,000 form a mound as big as a grain of sand. Featured in The New Genetics. View Media

Multivesicular bodies containing intralumenal vesicles assemble at the vacuole 1

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Collecting and transporting cellular waste and sorting it into recylable and nonrecylable pieces is a complex business in the cell. Matthew West and Greg Odorizzi, University of Colorado View Media

Bacteria shapes

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A colorized scanning electron micrograph of bacteria. Scanning electron microscopes allow scientists to see the three-dimensional surface of their samples. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Cryo-ET cross-section of the Golgi apparatus

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On the left, a cross-section slice of a rat pancreas cell captured using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). On the right, a 3D, color-coded version of the image highlighting cell structures. Xianjun Zhang, University of Southern California. View Media

Nucleosome

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Like a strand of white pearls, DNA wraps around an assembly of special proteins called histones (colored) to form the nucleosome, a structure responsible for regulating genes and condensing DNA strand Karolin Luger, Colorado State University View Media

Peripheral nerve cell derived from ES cells

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A peripheral nerve cell made from human embryonic stem cell-derived neural crest stem cells. Stephen Dalton, University of Georgia View Media

A molecular switch strips transcription factor from DNA

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In this video, Rice University scientists used molecular modeling with a mathematical algorithm called AWSEM (for associative memory, water-mediated, structure and energy model) and structural data to Davit Potoyan and Peter Wolynes View Media

Microsporidia in roundworm 1

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Many disease-causing microbes manipulate their host’s metabolism and cells for their own ends. Keir Balla and Emily Troemel, University of California San Diego View Media

Nerve cell

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Nerve cells have long, invisibly thin fibers that carry electrical impulses throughout the body. Some of these fibers extend about 3 feet from the spinal cord to the toes. Judith Stoffer View Media

Introduction to Genome Editing Using CRISPR/Cas9

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Genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 is a rapidly expanding field of scientific research with emerging applications in disease treatment, medical therapeutics and bioenergy, just to name a few. Janet Iwasa View Media

Genetically identical mycobacteria respond differently to antibiotic 2

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Antibiotic resistance in microbes is a serious health concern. So researchers have turned their attention to how bacteria undo the action of some antibiotics. Bree Aldridge, Tufts University View Media

Brains of sleep-deprived and well-rested fruit flies

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On top, the brain of a sleep-deprived fly glows orange because of Bruchpilot, a communication protein between brain cells. These bright orange brain areas are associated with learning. Chiara Cirelli, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media

Sleep and the fly brain

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In the top snapshots, the brain of a sleep-deprived fruit fly glows orange, marking high concentrations of a synaptic protein called Bruchpilot (BRP) involved in communication between neurons. Chiara Cirelli, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media

Confocal microscopy of perineuronal nets in the brain 1

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The photo shows a confocal microscopy image of perineuronal nets (PNNs), which are specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) structures in the brain. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Neural tube development

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Proteins in the neural tissues of this zebrafish embryo direct cells to line up and form the neural tube, which will become the spinal cord and brain. Alexander Schier, Harvard University View Media

RNase A (2)

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

Section of an electron density map

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Electron density maps such as this one are generated from the diffraction patterns of X-rays passing through protein crystals. The Southeast Collaboratory for Structural Genomics View Media

Video of Calling Cards in a mouse brain

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The green spots in this mouse brain are cells labeled with Calling Cards, a technology that records molecular events in brain cells as they mature. NIH Director's Blog View Media

Dynamin Fission

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Time lapse series shows short dynamin assemblies (not visible) constricting a lipid tube to make a "beads on a string" appearance, then cutting off one of the beads i.e., catalyzing membrane fission). Ramachandran, Pucadyil et al. , The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Fruit fly spermatids

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Developing spermatids (precursors of mature sperm cells) begin as small, round cells and mature into long-tailed, tadpole-shaped ones. Lacramioara Fabian, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada View Media

Atomic-level structure of the HIV capsid

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This animation shows atoms of the HIV capsid, the shell that encloses the virus's genetic material. Juan R. Perilla and the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign View Media

Introns (with labels)

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Genes are often interrupted by stretches of DNA (introns, blue) that do not contain instructions for making a protein. Crabtree + Company View Media

Hungry, hungry macrophages

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Macrophages (green) are the professional eaters of our immune system. Meghan Morrissey, University of California, Santa Barbara. View Media

Fruit fly ovary

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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, Johns Hopkins University and University of California, Santa Barbara View Media

Epigenetic code

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The "epigenetic code" controls gene activity with chemical tags that mark DNA (purple diamonds) and the "tails" of histone proteins (purple triangles). Crabtree + Company View Media

Lily mitosis 07

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A light microscope image of a cell from the endosperm of an African globe lily (Scadoxus katherinae). This is one frame of a time-lapse sequence that shows cell division in action. Andrew S. Bajer, University of Oregon, Eugene View Media

Retinal pigment epithelium derived from human ES cells 02

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This image shows a layer of retinal pigment epithelium cells derived from human embryonic stem cells, highlighting the nuclei (red) and cell surfaces (green). David Buckholz and Sherry Hikita, University of California, Santa Barbara, via CIRM View Media

Cell-like compartments emerging from scrambled frog eggs

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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

Fluorescent microscopy of kidney tissue

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Serum albumin (SA) is the most abundant protein in the blood plasma of mammals. SA has a characteristic heart-shape structure and is a highly versatile protein. Tom Deerinck , National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Fruit fly retina 02

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

CRISPR illustration

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This illustration shows, in simplified terms, how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used as a gene-editing tool. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. View Media

Soft X-ray tomography of a pancreatic beta cell

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A color-coded, 3D model of a rat pancreatic β cell. This type of cell produces insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. Carolyn Larabell, University of California, San Francisco. View Media

Yeast art depicting the New York City skyline

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This skyline of New York City was created by “printing” nanodroplets containing yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) onto a large plate. Each dot is a separate yeast colony. Michael Shen, Ph.D., Jasmine Temple, Leslie Mitchell, Ph.D., and Jef Boeke, Ph.D., New York University School of Medicine; and Nick Phillips, James Chuang, Ph.D., and Jiarui Wang, Johns Hopkins University. View Media

Ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 from C. elegans

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Solution NMR structure of protein target WR41 (left) from C. elegans. Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium View Media

Bee venom toxin destroying a cell

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This video condenses 6.5 minutes into less than a minute to show how the toxin in bee venom, called melittin, destroys an animal or bacterial cell. Huey Huang, Rice University View Media

Neurons from human ES cells

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These neural precursor cells were derived from human embryonic stem cells. The neural cell bodies are stained red, and the nuclei are blue. Xianmin Zeng lab, Buck Institute for Age Research, via CIRM View Media

Cell-like compartments emerging from scrambled frog eggs 2

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Plasma membrane

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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

Anchor cell in basement membrane

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An anchor cell (red) pushes through the basement membrane (green) that surrounds it. Elliott Hagedorn, Duke University. View Media

Phenylalanine tRNA molecule

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Phenylalanine tRNA showing the anticodon (yellow) and the amino acid, phenylalanine (blue and red spheres). Patrick O'Donoghue and Dieter Soll, Yale University View Media

Sea urchin embryo 06

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Stereo triplet of a sea urchin embryo stained to reveal actin filaments (orange) and microtubules (blue). George von Dassow, University of Washington View Media

Neurons from human ES cells 02

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These neurons were derived from human embryonic stem cells. The neural cell bodies with axonal projections are visible in red, and the nuclei in blue. Xianmin Zeng lab, Buck Institute for Age Research, via CIRM View Media

An adult Hawaiian bobtail squid

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An adult female Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, with its mantle cavity exposed from the underside. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Carnegie Institution for Science/California Institute of Technology, and Edward G. Ruby, California Institute of Technology. View Media

Microtubules in hippocampal neurons

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Microtubules (magenta) in neurons of the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in learning and memory. Microtubules are strong, hollow fibers that provide structural support to cells. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media

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