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.

Yeast cells with Fimbrin Fim1

6794

Yeast cells with the protein Fimbrin Fim1 shown in magenta. This protein plays a role in cell division. This image was captured using wide-field microscopy with deconvolution.
Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Ion channels

1284

The body uses a variety of ion channels to transport small molecules across cell membranes. Judith Stoffer View Media

Birth of a yeast cell

3614

Yeast make bread, beer, and wine. And like us, yeast can reproduce sexually. A mother and father cell fuse and create one large cell that contains four offspring. Juergen Berger, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, and Maria Langegger, Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society, Germany View Media

3D reconstruction of a tubular matrix in peripheral endoplasmic reticulum

5857

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

Human ES cells differentiating into neurons

3276

This image shows hundreds of human embryonic stem cells in various stages of differentiating into neurons. Guoping Fan lab, University of California, Los Angeles, via CIRM View Media

Stress Response in Cells

6570

Two highly stressed osteosarcoma cells are shown with a set of green droplet-like structures followed by a second set of magenta droplets. Julia F. Riley and Carlos A. Castañeda, Syracuse University View Media

Snowflake yeast 3

6971

Multicellular yeast called snowflake yeast that researchers created through many generations of directed evolution from unicellular yeast. William Ratcliff, Georgia Institute of Technology. View Media

Arachnoidiscus diatom

6902

An Arachnoidiscus diatom with a diameter of 190µm. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

A chromosome goes missing in anaphase

5766

Anaphase is the critical step during mitosis when sister chromosomes are disjoined and directed to opposite spindle poles, ensuring equal distribution of the genome during cell division. View Media

Calling Cards in a mouse brain

6780

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. Allen Yen, Lab of Joseph Dougherty, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. View Media

Dividing cell

6965

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

Neurons from human ES cells 02

3285

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

Movements of myosin

2324

Inside the fertilized egg cell of a fruit fly, we see a type of myosin (related to the protein that helps muscles contract) made to glow by attaching a fluorescent protein. Victoria Foe, University of Washington View Media

In vitro assembly of a cell-signaling pathway

3787

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

Z rings in bacterial division

2456

Lab-made liposomes contract where Z rings have gathered together and the constriction forces are greatest (arrows). Masaki Osawa, Duke University View Media

Leptospira bacteria

1166

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

Hydra 01

2437

Hydra magnipapillata is an invertebrate animal used as a model organism to study developmental questions, for example the formation of the body axis. Hiroshi Shimizu, National Institute of Genetics in Mishima, Japan View Media

Zinc levels in a plant leaf

3727

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

Electrode probe on mouse Huntington's muscle cell

3479

Using an electrode, researchers apply an electrical pulse onto a piece of muscle tissue affected by Huntington's disease. Grigor Varuzhanyan and Andrew A. Voss, California State Polytechnic University View Media

Genetic imprinting in Arabidopsis

2418

This delicate, birdlike projection is an immature seed of the Arabidopsis plant. The part in blue shows the cell that gives rise to the endosperm, the tissue that nourishes the embryo. Robert Fischer, University of California, Berkeley View Media

Skin cross-section

1056

Cross-section of skin anatomy shows layers and different tissue types. National Institutes of Health Medical Arts View Media

Genetically identical mycobacteria respond differently to antibiotic 2

5752

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

Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum

2635

A computer model shows how the endoplasmic reticulum is close to and almost wraps around mitochondria in the cell. The endoplasmic reticulum is lime green and the mitochondria are yellow. Bridget Wilson, University of New Mexico View Media

Mouse colon with gut bacteria

3566

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

Myelinated axons 1

3396

Myelinated axons in a rat spinal root. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) 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

The Proteasome: The Cell's Trash Processor in Action

3772

Our cells are constantly removing and recycling molecular waste. This video shows one way cells process their trash. View Media

Dolly the sheep

2690

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

Phagosome in macrophage cell

6799

A sensor particle being engulfed by a macrophage—an immune cell—and encapsuled in a compartment called a phagosome. The phagosome then fuses with lysosomes—another type of compartment. Yan Yu, Indiana University, Bloomington. 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

Cell in two stages of division

3541

This image shows a cell in two stages of division: prometaphase (top) and metaphase (bottom). Lilian Kabeche, Dartmouth View Media

Lily mitosis 04

1014

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

Yeast cells pack a punch

3788

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

Crane fly spermatocyte undergoing meiosis

6898

A crane fly spermatocyte during metaphase of meiosis-I, a step in the production of sperm. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. 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

A multicolored fish scale 2

3783

Each of the tiny 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

HIV-1 virus in the colon

3571

A tomographic reconstruction of the colon shows the location of large pools of HIV-1 virus particles (in blue) located in the spaces between adjacent cells. Mark Ladinsky, California Institute of Technology View Media

NCMIR Intestine-1

3389

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

Dividing yeast cells with spindle pole bodies and contractile rings

6796

During cell division, spindle pole bodies (glowing dots) move toward the ends of yeast cells to separate copied genetic information. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Peripheral nerve cell derived from ES cells

3264

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

Nerve cell

1338

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

Human embryonic stem cells on feeder cells

3274

This fluorescent microscope image shows human embryonic stem cells whose nuclei are stained green. Blue staining shows the surrounding supportive feeder cells. Michael Longaker lab, Stanford University School of Medicine, via CIRM View Media

Fruit fly starvation leads to adipokine accumulation

6984

Adult Drosophila abdominal fat tissue showing cell nuclei labelled in magenta. Akhila Rajan, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center View Media

Human skeletal muscle

3677

Cross section of human skeletal muscle. Image taken with a confocal fluorescent light microscope. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Lily mitosis 12

1018

Lily mitosis 07

1017

Fruit fly larvae brains showing tubulin

6808

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 retina 01

2430

Image showing rhabdomeres (red), the light-sensitive structures in the fruit fly retina, and rhodopsin-4 (blue), a light-sensing molecule. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Sea urchin embryo 04

1050

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

TEM cross-section of C. elegans (roundworm)

5759

The worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a popular laboratory animal because its small size and fairly simple body make it easy to study. Piali Sengupta, Brandeis University View Media

More Images...

View All Images