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.

Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 4

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What looks a little like distant planets with some mysterious surface features are actually assemblies of proteins normally found in the cell's nucleolus, a small but very important protein complex lo Nilesh Vaidya, Princeton University View Media

Wound healing in process

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Wound healing requires the action of stem cells. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

HeLa cell undergoing division into two daughter cells

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Here, a human HeLa cell (a type of immortal cell line used in laboratory experiments) is undergoing cell division. Dylan T. Burnette, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. View Media

Plasma membrane (with labels)

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The plasma membrane is a cell's protective barrier. See image 2523 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media

Seeing signaling protein activation in cells 03

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Cdc42, a member of the Rho family of small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) proteins, regulates multiple cell functions, including motility, proliferation, apoptosis, and cell morphology. Klaus Hahn, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Medical School View Media

RSV-Infected Cell

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Viral RNA (red) in an RSV-infected cell. Eric Alonas and Philip Santangelo, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University View Media

Dense tubular matrices in the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum (ER) 2

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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

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

Cell division phases in Xenopus frog cells

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These images show three stages of cell division in Xenopus XL177 cells, which are derived from tadpole epithelial cells. They are (from top): metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Claire Walczak, who took them while working as a postdoc in the laboratory of Timothy Mitchison View Media

G switch (with labels and stages)

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The G switch allows our bodies to respond rapidly to hormones. G proteins act like relay batons to pass messages from circulating hormones into cells. Crabtree + Company View Media

Motor neuron progenitors derived from human ES cells

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Motor neuron progenitors (green) were derived from human embryonic stem cells. Image and caption information courtesy of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Hans Keirstead lab, University of California, Irvine, via CIRM View Media

Pollen grains: male germ cells in plants and a cause of seasonal allergies

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Those of us who get sneezy and itchy-eyed every spring or fall may have pollen grains, like those shown here, to blame. Edna, Gil, and Amit Cukierman, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa. 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. Kenneth Keiler, Penn State University View Media

Neural circuits in worms similar to those in humans

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Green and yellow fluorescence mark the processes and cell bodies of some C. elegans neurons. Shawn Xu, University of Michigan View Media

Trigonium diatom

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A Trigonium diatom imaged by a quantitative orientation-independent differential interference contrast (OI-DIC) microscope. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

Floral pattern in a mixture of two bacterial species, Acinetobacter baylyi and Escherichia coli, grown on a semi-solid agar for 72 hour

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Floral pattern emerging as two bacterial species, motile Acinetobacter baylyi and non-motile Escherichia coli (green), are grown together for 72 hours on 0.5% agar surface from a small i L. Xiong et al, eLife 2020;9: e48885 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

Human endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex

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A 3D model of the human endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex (EMC) that identifies its nine essential subunits. Rebecca Voorhees, California Institute of Technology. View Media

Biopixels

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Bioengineers were able to coax bacteria to blink in unison on microfluidic chips. This image shows a small chip with about 500 blinking bacterial colonies or biopixels. Jeff Hasty Lab, UC San Diego View Media

Fruit fly ovary_2

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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, University of California, Santa Barbara View Media

Scanning electron microscopy of collagen fibers

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This image shows collagen, a fibrous protein that's the main component of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Collagen is a strong, ropelike molecule that forms stretch-resistant fibers. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

GFP sperm

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Fruit fly sperm cells glow bright green when they express the gene for green fluorescent protein (GFP). 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

Mosaicism in C. elegans (White 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

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

Telomerase illustration

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Reactivating telomerase in our cells does not appear to be a good way to extend the human lifespan. Cancer cells reactivate telomerase. Judith Stoffer 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

Arabidopsis Thaliana: Flowers Spring to Life

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This image capture shows how a single gene, STM, plays a starring role in plant development. Nathanaёl Prunet NIH Support: National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Migrating pigment cells

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

Bone cancer cell

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This image shows an osteosarcoma cell with DNA in blue, energy factories (mitochondria) in yellow, and actin filaments—part of the cellular skeleton—in purple. Dylan Burnette and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, NICHD View Media

Developing fruit fly nerve cord

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The glial cells (black dots) and nerve cells (brown bands) in this developing fruit fly nerve cord formed normally despite the absence of the SPITZ protein, which blocks their impending suicide. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Heart muscle with reprogrammed skin cells

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Skins cells were reprogrammed into heart muscle cells. The cells highlighted in green are remaining skin cells. Red indicates a protein that is unique to heart muscle. Deepak Srivastava, Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, via CIRM 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

Floral pattern in a mixture of two bacterial species, Acinetobacter baylyi and Escherichia coli, grown on a semi-solid agar for 48 hours (photo 1)

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Floral pattern emerging as two bacterial species, motile Acinetobacter baylyi (red) and non-motile Escherichia coli (green), are grown together for 48 hours on 1% agar surface from a sma L. Xiong et al, eLife 2020;9: e48885 View Media

Myelinated axons 2

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Top view of myelinated axons in a rat spinal root. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Dynein moving along microtubules

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Dynein (green) is a motor protein that “walks” along microtubules (red, part of the cytoskeleton) and carries its cargo along with it. This video was captured through fluorescence microscopy. Morgan DeSantis, University of Michigan. View Media

Crab larva eye

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Colorized scanning electron micrographs progressively zoom in on the eye of a crab larva. In the higher-resolution frames, bacteria are visible on the eye. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa 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

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

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

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

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