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.

Chromosome inside nucleus (with labels)

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The long, stringy DNA that makes up genes is spooled within chromosomes inside the nucleus of a cell. Crabtree + Company View Media

Induced stem cells from adult skin 01

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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

Retroviruses as fossils

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DNA doesn't leave a fossil record in stone, the way bones do. Instead, the DNA code itself holds the best evidence for organisms' genetic history. Emily Harrington, science illustrator View Media

Nucleotides make up DNA

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DNA consists of two long, twisted chains made up of nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains one base, one phosphate molecule, and the sugar molecule deoxyribose. Crabtree + Company View Media

Zebrafish embryo

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Just 22 hours after fertilization, this zebrafish embryo is already taking shape. By 36 hours, all of the major organs will have started to form. Philipp Keller, Bill Lemon, Yinan Wan, and Kristin Branson, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Va. View Media

Alternative splicing

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Arranging exons in different patterns, called alternative splicing, enables cells to make different proteins from a single gene. Crabtree + Company View Media

Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae

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Mosquito larvae with genes edited by CRISPR swimming in water. Valentino Gantz, University of California, San Diego. View Media

Lily mitosis 03

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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

Average teen circadian cycle

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Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. Typical circadian rhythms lead to high energy during the middle of the day (10 a.m. NIGMS View Media

Symmetrically and asymmetrically elongating cells

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Merged fluorescent images of symmetrically (left) or asymmetrically (right) elongating HeLa cells at the end of early anaphase (magenta) and late anaphase (green). Tomomi Kiyomitsu and Iain M. Cheeseman, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research View Media

Chromosomes after crossing over

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Duplicated pair of chromosomes have exchanged material. Judith Stoffer View Media

RNA interference (with labels)

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RNA interference or RNAi is a gene-silencing process in which double-stranded RNAs trigger the destruction of specific RNAs. Crabtree + Company View Media

Wild-type and mutant fruit fly ovaries

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The two large, central, round shapes are ovaries from a typical fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. View Media

CRISPR Illustration Frame 2

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This illustration shows, in simplified terms, how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used as a gene-editing tool. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. 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

Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of sleeping sickness

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Trypanosoma brucei is a single-cell parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. Michael Rout, Rockefeller University 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

Cross section of a Drosophila melanogaster pupa

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This photograph shows a magnified view of a Drosophila melanogaster pupa in cross section. Compare this normal pupa to one that lacks an important receptor, shown in image 2759. Christina McPhee and Eric Baehrecke, University of Massachusetts Medical School View Media

Central dogma, illustrated (with labels)

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DNA encodes RNA, which encodes protein. DNA is transcribed to make messenger RNA (mRNA). The mRNA sequence (dark red strand) is complementary to the DNA sequence (blue strand). Crabtree + Company View Media

Zinc finger

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The structure of a gene-regulating zinc finger protein bound to DNA. Jeremy M. Berg, National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Ciclo circadiano de un adolescente típico

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Los ritmos circadianos son cambios físicos, mentales y conductuales que siguen un ciclo de 24 horas. NIGMS 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

Epigenetic code (with labels)

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The "epigenetic code" controls gene activity with chemical tags that mark DNA (purple diamonds) and the "tails" of histone proteins (purple triangles). Crabtree + Company View Media

Painted chromosomes

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Like a paint-by-numbers picture, painted probes tint individual human chromosomes by targeting specific DNA sequences. Beth A. Sullivan, Duke University View Media

Genetic mosaicism in fruit flies

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Fat tissue from the abdomen of a genetically mosaic adult fruit fly. Genetic mosaicism means that the fly has cells with different genotypes even though it formed from a single zygote. Akhila Rajan, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center 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

Zebrafish larva

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You are face to face with a 6-day-old zebrafish larva. What look like eyes will become nostrils, and the bulges on either side will become eyes. Oscar Ruiz and George Eisenhoffer, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston View Media

Recombinant DNA

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To splice a human gene into a plasmid, scientists take the plasmid out of an E. coli bacterium, cut the plasmid with a restriction enzyme, and splice in human DNA. Crabtree + Company View Media

Lily mitosis 02

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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

Katanin protein regulates anaphase

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The microtubule severing protein, katanin, localizes to chromosomes and regulates anaphase A in mitosis. David Sharp, Albert Einstein College of Medicine View Media

A molecular interaction network in yeast 2

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The image visualizes a part of the yeast molecular interaction network. Keiichiro Ono, UCSD View Media

Lily mitosis 09

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CRISPR Illustration Frame 5

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This illustration shows, in simplified terms, how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used as a gene-editing tool. This is the fifthframe in a series of five. View Media

HIV enzyme

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These images model the molecular structures of three enzymes with critical roles in the life cycle of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media

Lily mitosis 10

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Sponge

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Many of today's medicines come from products found in nature, such as this sponge found off the coast of Palau in the Pacific Ocean. Phil Baran, Scripps Research Institute View Media

Chromosomes before crossing over

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Duplicated pair of chromosomes lined up and ready to cross over. Judith Stoffer View Media

Highlighted cells

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The cytoskeleton (green) and DNA (purple) are highlighed in these cells by immunofluorescence. Torsten Wittmann, Scripps Research Institute View Media

Life of an AIDS virus (with labels and stages)

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HIV is a retrovirus, a type of virus that carries its genetic material not as DNA but as RNA. Crabtree + Company View Media

Developing Arabidopsis flower buds

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Flower development is a carefully orchestrated, genetically programmed process that ensures that the male (stamen) and female (pistil) organs form in the right place and at the right time in the flowe Nathanaël Prunet, Caltech View Media

Snowflake DNA origami

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An atomic force microscopy image shows DNA folded into an intricate, computer-designed structure. The image is featured on Biomedical Beat blog post Cool Images: A Holiday-Themed Collection. Hao Yan, Arizona State University View Media

Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 3

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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

Fused, dicentric chromosomes

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This fused chromosome has two functional centromeres, shown as two sets of red and green dots. Beth A. Sullivan, Duke University View Media

Los ritmos circadianos y el núcleo supraquiasmático

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Los ritmos circadianos son cambios físicos, mentales y de comportamiento que siguen un ciclo de 24 horas. NIGMS View Media

Genetic imprinting in Arabidopsis

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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

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

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

Recombinant DNA (with labels)

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To splice a human gene (in this case, the one for insulin) into a plasmid, scientists take the plasmid out of an E. Crabtree + Company View Media

CRISPR Illustration Frame 1

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This illustration shows, in simplified terms, how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used as a gene-editing tool. This is the first frame in a series of four. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. View Media

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