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.

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

Cultured cells

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This image of laboratory-grown cells was taken with the help of a scanning electron microscope, which yields detailed images of cell surfaces. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Planarian stem cell colony

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Planarians are freshwater flatworms that have powerful abilities to regenerate their bodies, which would seem to make them natural model organisms in which to study stem cells. Peter Reddien, Whitehead Institute View Media

Dolly the sheep

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Scientists in Scotland were the first to clone an animal, this sheep named Dolly. She later gave birth to Bonnie, the lamb next to her. View Media

Single-cell “radios” video

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Individual cells are color-coded based on their identity and signaling activity using a protein circuit technology developed by the Coyle Lab. Scott Coyle, University of Wisconsin-Madison. View Media

Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of sleeping sickness

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Trypanosoma brucei is a single-cell parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. Michael Rout, Rockefeller University View Media

HeLa cells

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Scanning electron micrograph of just-divided HeLa cells. Zeiss Merlin HR-SEM. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Crab nerve cell

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Neuron from a crab showing the cell body (bottom), axon (rope-like extension), and growth cone (top right). Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Q fever bacteria in an infected cell

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This image shows Q fever bacteria (yellow), which infect cows, sheep, and goats around the world and can infect humans, as well. When caught early, Q fever can be cured with antibiotics. Robert Heinzen, Elizabeth Fischer, and Anita Mora, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health View Media

Floral pattern in a mixture of two bacterial species, Acinetobacter baylyi and Escherichia coli, grown on a semi-solid agar for 24 hours

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Floral pattern emerging as two bacterial species, motile Acinetobacter baylyi and non-motile Escherichia coli (green), are grown together for 24 hours on 0.75% agar surface from a small L. Xiong et al, eLife 2020;9: e48885 View Media

Lily mitosis 06

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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

Dividing cell

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As this cell was undergoing cell division, it was imaged with two microscopy techniques: differential interference contrast (DIC) and confocal. The DIC view appears in blue and shows the entire cell. Dylan T. Burnette, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. View Media

Math from the heart

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

Mosaicism in C. elegans (Black Background)

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In the worm C. elegans, double-stranded RNA made in neurons can silence matching genes in a variety of cell types through the transport of RNA between cells. Snusha Ravikumar, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, and Antony M. Jose, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park View Media

Mouse embryo showing Smad4 protein

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This eerily glowing blob isn't an alien or a creature from the deep sea--it's a mouse embryo just eight and a half days old. The green shell and core show a protein called Smad4. Kenneth Zaret, Fox Chase Cancer Center 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

Yeast cells with accumulated cell wall material

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Yeast cells that abnormally accumulate cell wall material (blue) at their ends and, when preparing to divide, in their middles. This image was captured using wide-field microscopy with deconvolution. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Anglerfish ovary cross-section

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This image captures the spiral-shaped ovary of an anglerfish in cross-section. Once matured, these eggs will be released in a gelatinous, floating mass. James E. Hayden, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. View Media

Lily mitosis 05

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Ear hair cells derived from embryonic stem cells

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Mouse embryonic stem cells matured into this bundle of hair cells similar to the ones that transmit sound in the ear. Stefen Heller, Stanford University, via CIRM View Media

Cryo-ET cell cross-section visualizing insulin vesicles

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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 color-coded, 3D version of the image highlighting cell structures. Xianjun Zhang, University of Southern California. View Media

Misfolded proteins in mitochondria, 3-D video

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Three-dimensional image of misfolded proteins (green) within mitochondria (red). Related to image 5878. Rong Li, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University View Media

Vibrio bacteria

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Vibrio, a type (genus) of rod-shaped bacteria. Some Vibrio species cause cholera in humans. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Cells use bubble-like structures called vesicles to transport cargo

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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

Zebrafish embryo showing vasculature

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A zebrafish embryo. The blue areas are cell bodies, the green lines are blood vessels, and the red glow is blood. Kevin Eliceiri, University of Wisconsin-Madison. View Media

Pathways: What is It? | Why Scientists Study Cells

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Learn how curiosity about the world and our cells is key to scientific discoveries. National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

3D image of actin in a cell

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Actin is an essential protein in a cell's skeleton (cytoskeleton). It forms a dense network of thin filaments in the cell. Xiaowei Zhuang, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University View Media

Fruit fly ovary

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In this image of a stained fruit fly ovary, the ovary is packed with immature eggs (with DNA stained blue). The cytoskeleton (in pink) is a collection of fibers that gives a cell shape and support. Crystal D. Rogers, Ph.D., University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine; and Mariano A. Loza-Coll, Ph.D., California State University, Northridge. View Media

Neural development

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Using techniques that took 4 years to design, a team of developmental biologists showed that certain proteins can direct the subdivision of fruit fly and chicken nervous system tissue into the regions Mieko Mizutani and Ethan Bier, University of California, San Diego, and Henk Roelink, University of Washington View Media

3D reconstruction of a tubular matrix in peripheral endoplasmic reticulum

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Detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of a tubular matrix in a thin section of the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum between the plasma membranes of the cell. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, Virginia View Media

Mouse colon with gut bacteria

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A section of mouse colon with gut bacteria (center, in green) residing within a protective pocket. Sarkis K. Mazmanian, California Institute of Technology View Media

Leptospira bacteria

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Leptospira, shown here in green, is a type (genus) of elongated, spiral-shaped bacteria. Infection can cause Weil's disease, a kind of jaundice, in humans. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

HIV, the AIDS virus, infecting a human cell

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This human T cell (blue) is under attack by HIV (yellow), the virus that causes AIDS. Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer, and Austin Athman, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health View Media

Bioluminescence in a Tube

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Details about the basic biology and chemistry of the ingredients that produce bioluminescence are allowing scientists to harness it as an imaging tool. Credit: Nathan Shaner, Scintillon Institute. Nathan Shaner, Scintillon Institute View Media

Drugs enter skin (with labels)

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Drugs enter different layers of skin via intramuscular, subcutaneous, or transdermal delivery methods. See image 2531 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company View Media

Kinesin moves cellular cargo

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A protein called kinesin (blue) is in charge of moving cargo around inside cells and helping them divide. Charles Sindelar, Yale University View Media

Lysosomes

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Lysosomes have powerful enzymes and acids to digest and recycle cell materials. Judith Stoffer View Media

Lysosomes and microtubules

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Lysosomes (yellow) and detyrosinated microtubules (light blue). Lysosomes are bubblelike organelles that take in molecules and use enzymes to break them down. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media

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