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

Bubonic plague bacteria on part of the digestive system in a rat flea

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Here, bubonic plague bacteria (yellow) are shown in the digestive system of a rat flea (purple). The bubonic plague killed a third of Europeans in the mid-14th century. NIAID View Media

Human ES cells differentiating into neurons

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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

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

Fruit fly spermatids

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Developing spermatids (precursors of mature sperm cells) begin as small, round cells and mature into long-tailed, tadpole-shaped ones. Lacramioara Fabian, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada View Media

Dicty fruit

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Dictyostelium discoideum is a microscopic amoeba. A group of 100,000 form a mound as big as a grain of sand. Featured in The New Genetics. View Media

Cell cycle (with labels)

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Cells progress through a cycle that consists of phases for growth (G1, S, and G2) and division (M). Cells become quiescent when they exit this cycle (G0). Crabtree + Company View Media

Chromatin in human tenocyte

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The nucleus of a degenerating human tendon cell, also known as a tenocyte. It has been color-coded based on the density of chromatin—a substance made up of DNA and proteins. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media

An insect tracheal cell delivers air to muscles

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Insects like the fruit fly use an elaborate network of branching tubes called trachea (green) to transport oxygen throughout their bodies. Jayan Nair and Maria Leptin, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany View Media

Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 1

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The nucleolus is a small but very important protein complex located in the cell's nucleus. Nilesh Vaidya, Princeton University View Media

Biosensors illustration

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A rendering of an activity biosensor image overlaid with a cell-centered frame of reference used for image analysis of signal transduction. Gaudenz Danuser, Harvard Medical School View Media

Dividing cells showing chromosomes and cell skeleton

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This pig cell is in the process of dividing. The chromosomes (purple) have already replicated and the duplicates are being pulled apart by fibers of the cell skeleton known as microtubules (green). Nasser Rusan, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health 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

ARTS triggers apoptosis

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Cell showing overproduction of the ARTS protein (red). ARTS triggers apoptosis, as shown by the activation of caspase-3 (green) a key tool in the cell's destruction. The nucleus is shown in blue. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Human embryonic stem cells

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The center cluster of cells, colored blue, shows a colony of human embryonic stem cells. James Thomson, University of Wisconsin-Madison 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

Cellular traffic

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Like tractor-trailers on a highway, small sacs called vesicles transport substances within cells. This image tracks the motion of vesicles in a living cell. Alexey Sharonov and Robin Hochstrasser, University of Pennsylvania View Media

Developing zebrafish fin

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Originally from the waters of India, Nepal, and neighboring countries, zebrafish can now be found swimming in science labs (and home aquariums) throughout the world. Jessica Plavicki View Media

Fruit fly nurse cells 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

H1N1 Influenza Virus

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CellPack image of the H1N1 influenza virus, with hemagglutinin and neuraminidase glycoproteins in green and red, respectively, on the outer envelope (white); matrix protein in gray, and ribonucleoprot Dr. Rommie Amaro, University of California, San Diego View Media

Confocal microscopy image of two Drosophila ovarioles

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Ovarioles in female insects are tubes in which egg cells (called oocytes) form at one end and complete their development as they reach the other end of the tube. 2004 Olympus BioScapes Competition View Media

Lily mitosis 09

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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

HeLa cells

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Multiphoton fluorescence image of HeLa cells with cytoskeletal microtubules (magenta) and DNA (cyan). Nikon RTS2000MP custom laser scanning microscope. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Assembly of the HIV capsid

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The HIV capsid is a pear-shaped structure that is made of proteins the virus needs to mature and become infective. John Grime and Gregory Voth, The University of Chicago 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

Fruit fly retina 01

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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

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in mouse ES cells shows DNA interactions

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Researchers used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to confirm the presence of long range DNA-DNA interactions in mouse embryonic stem cells. Kathrin Plath, University of California, Los Angeles 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

Hydra 06

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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

Tetrapolar mitosis

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This image shows an abnormal, tetrapolar mitosis. Chromosomes are highlighted pink. The cells shown are S3 tissue cultured cells from Xenopus laevis, African clawed frog. Gary Gorbsky, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation View Media

Wound healing in process

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

Beta-galactosidase montage showing cryo-EM improvement--gradient background

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Composite image of beta-galactosidase showing how cryo-EM’s resolution has improved dramatically in recent years. Older images to the left, more recent to the right. Veronica Falconieri, Sriram Subramaniam Lab, National Cancer Institute View Media

Induced pluripotent stem cells from skin

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These induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) were derived from a woman's skin. Green and red indicate proteins found in reprogrammed cells but not in skin cells (TRA1-62 and NANOG). Kathrin Plath lab, University of California, Los Angeles, via CIRM 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

Plasma membrane

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The plasma membrane is a cell's protective barrier. See image 2524 for a labeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media

Bioluminescent imaging in adult zebrafish - overhead view

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Luciferase-based imaging enables visualization and quantification of internal organs and transplanted cells in live adult zebrafish. Kenneth Poss, Duke University 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

Genetically identical mycobacteria respond differently to antibiotic 1

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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

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

Genetically identical mycobacteria respond differently to antibiotic 2

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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

Zebrafish embryo

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A zebrafish embryo showing its natural colors. Zebrafish have see-through eggs and embryos, making them ideal research organisms for studying the earliest stages of development. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

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