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.

Multivesicular bodies containing intralumenal vesicles assemble at the vacuole 2

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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

Mitosis - prophase

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A cell in prophase, near the start of mitosis: In the nucleus, chromosomes condense and become visible. In the cytoplasm, the spindle forms. Judith Stoffer View Media

A multicolored fish scale 1

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Each of the colored specs in this image is a cell on the surface of a fish scale. Chen-Hui Chen and Kenneth Poss, Duke University View Media

Movie of in vitro assembly of a cell-signaling pathway

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T cells are white blood cells that are important in defending the body against bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Xiaolei Su, HHMI Whitman Center of the Marine Biological Laboratory 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

Tracking cells in a gastrulating zebrafish embryo

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During development, a zebrafish embryo is transformed from a ball of cells into a recognizable body plan by sweeping convergence and extension cell movements. This process is called gastrulation. Liliana Solnica-Krezel, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 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

Cellular aging

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A protein called tubulin (green) accumulates in the center of a nucleus (outlined in pink) from an aging cell. Maximiliano D'Angelo and Martin Hetzer, Salk Institute View Media

Human ES cells turn into insulin-producing cells

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Human embryonic stem cells were differentiated into cells like those found in the pancreas (blue), which give rise to insulin-producing cells (red). Eugene Brandon, ViaCyte, via CIRM 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

Fly cells live

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

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

Three neurons and human ES cells

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The three neurons (red) visible in this image were derived from human embryonic stem cells. Undifferentiated stem cells are green here. Anirvan Ghosh lab, University of California, San Diego, via CIRM View Media

Zinc levels in a plant leaf

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Zinc is required for the function of more than 300 enzymes, including those that help regulate gene expression, in various organisms including humans. Suzana Car, Dartmouth College View Media

Spinal nerve cells

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Neurons (green) and glial cells from isolated dorsal root ganglia express COX-2 (red) after exposure to an inflammatory stimulus (cell nuclei are blue). Lawrence Marnett, Vanderbilt University View Media

Mouse Retina

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A genetic disorder of the nervous system, neurofibromatosis causes tumors to form on nerves throughout the body, including a type of tumor called an optic nerve glioma that can result in childhood bli Tom Deerinck, NCMIR 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

Mitotic cell awaits chromosome alignment

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During mitosis, spindle microtubules (red) attach to chromosome pairs (blue), directing them to the spindle equator. View Media

Mitosis - telophase

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Telophase during mitosis: Nuclear membranes form around each of the two sets of chromosomes, the chromosomes begin to spread out, and the spindle begins to break down. Judith Stoffer View Media

Fruit fly larvae brains showing tubulin

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Two fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larvae brains with neurons expressing fluorescently tagged tubulin protein. Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern 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

Endothelial cell

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This image shows two components of the cytoskeleton, microtubules (green) and actin filaments (red), in an endothelial cell derived from a cow lung. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Calcium uptake during ATP production in mitochondria

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Living primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Mitochondria (green) stained with the mitochondrial membrane potential indicator, rhodamine 123. Nuclei (blue) are stained with DAPI. Lili Guo, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania View Media

Sea urchin embryo 03

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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

Lysosomes

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

NCMIR Intestine-1

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The small intestine is where most of our nutrients from the food we eat are absorbed into the bloodstream. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Fruit fly nurse cells transporting their contents during egg development

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In many animals, the egg cell develops alongside sister cells. Adam C. Martin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. View Media

Endoplasmic reticulum

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Fluorescent markers show the interconnected web of tubes and compartments in the endoplasmic reticulum. The protein atlastin helps build and maintain this critical part of cells. Andrea Daga, Eugenio Medea Scientific Institute (Conegliano, Italy) View Media

Mitosis and meiosis compared

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Meiosis is used to make sperm and egg cells. During meiosis, a cell's chromosomes are copied once, but the cell divides twice. Judith Stoffer View Media

Apoptosis reversed

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Two healthy cells (bottom, left) enter into apoptosis (bottom, center) but spring back to life after a fatal toxin is removed (bottom, right; top). Hogan Tang of the Denise Montell Lab, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine View Media

Blinking bacteria

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Like a pulsing blue shower, E. coli cells flash in synchrony. Genes inserted into each cell turn a fluorescent protein on and off at regular intervals. Jeff Hasty, University of California, San Diego View Media

Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 5

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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

Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 3

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Cell-like compartments that spontaneously emerged from scrambled frog eggs. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are visible. Image created using epifluorescence microscopy. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media

Color coding of the Drosophila brain - video

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This video results from a research project to visualize which regions of the adult fruit fly (Drosophila) brain derive from each neural stem cell. Yong Wan from Charles Hansen’s lab, University of Utah. Data preparation and visualization by Masayoshi Ito in the lab of Kei Ito, University of Tokyo. View Media

Time-lapse video of 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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This time-lapse video shows the emergence of a flower-like pattern in a mixture of two bacterial species, motile Acinetobacter baylyi and non-motile Escherichia coli (green), that are gr L. Xiong et al, eLife 2020;9: e48885 View Media

Yeast cells pack a punch

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Although they are tiny, microbes that are growing in confined spaces can generate a lot of pressure. In this video, yeast cells grow in a small chamber called a microfluidic bioreactor. Oskar Hallatschek, UC Berkeley View Media

Glowing glycans

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Sugars light up the cells in this jaw of a 3-day-old zebrafish embryo and highlight a scientific first: labeling and tracking the movements of sugar chains called glycans in a living organism. Carolyn Bertozzi, University of California, Berkeley View Media

Streptococcus bacteria

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Image of Streptococcus, a type (genus) of spherical bacteria that can colonize the throat and back of the mouth. Stroptococci often occur in pairs or in chains, as shown here. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Spreading Cells 01

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Cells move forward with lamellipodia and filopodia supported by networks and bundles of actin filaments. Proper, controlled cell movement is a complex process. Rong Li and Praveen Suraneni, Stowers Institute for Medical Research View Media

Induced stem cells from adult skin 02

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These cells are induced stem cells made from human adult skin cells that were genetically reprogrammed to mimic embryonic stem cells. James Thomson, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media

Purkinje cells are one of the main cell types in the brain

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This image captures Purkinje cells (red), one of the main types of nerve cell found in the brain. Yinghua Ma and Timothy Vartanian, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. View Media

Two mouse fibroblast cells

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Two mouse fibroblasts, one of the most common types of cells in mammalian connective tissue. They play a key role in wound healing and tissue repair. Dylan T. Burnette, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. View Media

Plasma-Derived Membrane Vesicles

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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

Pigment cells in fish skin

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

Colony of human ES cells

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A colony of human embryonic stem cells (light blue) grows on fibroblasts (dark blue). California Institute for Regenerative Medicine View Media

HeLa cells

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Multiphoton fluorescence image of HeLa cells stained with the actin binding toxin phalloidin (red), microtubules (cyan) and cell nuclei (blue). Nikon RTS2000MP custom laser scanning microscope. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

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