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Wound healing in process
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Wound healing requires the action of stem cells. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media
Zebrafish pigment cell
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Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington View Media
Interphase in Xenopus frog cells
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These images show frog cells in interphase. The cells are Xenopus XL177 cells, which are derived from tadpole epithelial cells. The microtubules are green and the chromosomes are blue. Claire Walczak, who took them while working as a postdoc in the laboratory of Timothy Mitchison. View Media
Larvae from the parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis
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The parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis hatches in water and grows up in a freshwater snail, as shown here. Bo Wang and Phillip A. Newmark, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 FASEB BioArt winner View Media
Panorama view of golden mitochondria
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Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells, generating the energy the cells need to do their tasks and to stay alive. Torsten Wittmann, University of California, San Francisco View Media
HeLa cells
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Multiphoton fluorescence image of cultured HeLa cells with a fluorescent protein targeted to the Golgi apparatus (orange), microtubules (green) and counterstained for DNA (cyan). National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Body toxins
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Body organs such as the liver and kidneys process chemicals and toxins. These "target" organs are susceptible to damage caused by these substances. Crabtree + Company View Media
Brain showing hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease
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Along with blood vessels (red) and nerve cells (green), this mouse brain shows abnormal protein clumps known as plaques (blue). Alvin Gogineni, Genentech View Media
Mouse mammary cells lacking anti-cancer protein
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Shortly after a pregnant woman gives birth, her breasts start to secrete milk. This process is triggered by hormonal and genetic cues, including the protein Elf5. Nature Cell Biology, November 2012, Volume 14 No 11 pp1113-1231 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
Proteasome
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This fruit fly spermatid recycles various molecules, including malformed or damaged proteins. Sigi Benjamin-Hong, Rockefeller University View Media
Cellular polarity
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As an egg cell develops, a process called polarization controls what parts ultimately become the embryo's head and tail. This picture shows an egg of the fruit fly Drosophila. Wu-Min Deng, Florida State University View Media
Snowflake yeast 2
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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
Chromatin in human fibroblast
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The nucleus of a human fibroblast cell with chromatin—a substance made up of DNA and proteins—shown in various colors. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media
Cryo-electron tomography of a Caulobacter bacterium
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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
Transmission electron microscopy of coronary artery wall with elastin-rich ECM pseudocolored in light brown
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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
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
Tracking embryonic zebrafish cells
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To better understand cell movements in developing embryos, researchers isolated cells from early zebrafish embryos and grew them as clusters. Liliana Solnica-Krezel, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. View Media
Master clock of the mouse brain
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An image of the area of the mouse brain that serves as the 'master clock,' which houses the brain's time-keeping neurons. The nuclei of the clock cells are shown in blue. Erik Herzog, Washington University in St. Louis 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
Cross section of a Drosophila melanogaster pupa lacking Draper
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In the absence of the engulfment receptor Draper, salivary gland cells (light blue) persist in the thorax of a developing Drosophila melanogaster pupa. Christina McPhee and Eric Baehrecke, University of Massachusetts Medical School 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
Bacillus anthracis being killed
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Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) cells being killed by a fluorescent trans-translation inhibitor, which disrupts bacterial protein synthesis. John Alumasa, Keiler Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University View Media
Vimentin in a quail embryo
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Confocal image showing high levels of the protein vimentin (white) at the edge zone of a quail embryo. Cell nuclei are labeled green. Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech View Media
Yeast cells with nuclear envelopes and tubulin
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Yeast cells with nuclear envelopes shown in magenta and tubulin shown in light blue. The nuclear envelope defines the borders of the nucleus, which houses DNA. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media
Yeast cells with nuclei and contractile rings
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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
Host infection stimulates antibiotic resistance
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This illustration shows pathogenic bacteria behave like a Trojan horse: switching from antibiotic susceptibility to resistance during infection. View Media
Drugs enter skin
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Drugs enter different layers of skin via intramuscular, subcutaneous, or transdermal delivery methods. See image 2532 for a labeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company 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
Aldolase
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2.5Å resolution reconstruction of rabbit muscle aldolase collected on a FEI/Thermo Fisher Titan Krios with energy filter and image corrector. National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy http://nramm.nysbc.org/nramm-images/ Source: Bridget Carragher View Media
Tiny strands of tubulin, a protein in a cell's skeleton
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Just as our bodies rely on bones for structural support, our cells rely on a cellular skeleton. Pakorn Kanchanawong, National University of Singapore and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health; and Clare Waterman, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health View Media
Sea urchin embryo 04
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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
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
Molecular model of freshly made Rous sarcoma virus (RSV)
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Viruses have been the foes of animals and other organisms for time immemorial. Boon Chong Goh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign View Media
Mouse heart fibroblasts
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This image shows mouse fetal heart fibroblast cells. The muscle protein actin is stained red, and the cell nuclei are stained blue. Kara McCloskey lab, University of California, Merced, via CIRM View Media
Movements of myosin
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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
Cell division with late aligning chromosomes
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This video shows an instance of abnormal mitosis where chromosomes are late to align. Gary Gorbsky, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation 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
Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 2
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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
Four timepoints in gastrulation
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It has been said that gastrulation is the most important event in a person's life. Bob Goldstein, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill View Media
Rat Hippocampus
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This image of the hippocampus was taken with an ultra-widefield high-speed multiphoton laser microscope. Tom Deerinck, NCMIR 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
Mouse cerebellum in pink and blue
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The cerebellum is the brain's locomotion control center. Found at the base of your brain, the cerebellum is a single layer of tissue with deep folds like an accordion. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Cell curvature
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Rendering of the surface of an endothelial cell; membrane curvature is color coded. This is an example of NIH-supported research on single-cell analysis. Gaudenz Danuser, Harvard Medical School View Media
Smooth ER
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The endoplasmic reticulum comes in two types: Rough ER is covered with ribosomes and prepares newly made proteins; smooth ER specializes in making lipids and breaking down toxic molecules. Judith Stoffer View Media
Sea urchin embryo 05
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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
Pigment cells in the fin of pearl danio
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Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington 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
Hair cells: the sound-sensing cells in the ear
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These cells get their name from the hairlike structures that extend from them into the fluid-filled tube of the inner ear. Henning Horn, Brian Burke, and Colin Stewart, Institute of Medical Biology, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Singapore View Media
Simulation of leg muscles moving
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When we walk, muscles and nerves interact in intricate ways. This simulation, which is based on data from a six-foot-tall man, shows these interactions. Chand John and Eran Guendelman, Stanford University View Media
