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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.

Bacterial symbionts colonizing the crypts of a juvenile Hawaiian bobtail squid light organ

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A light organ (~0.5 mm across) of a Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, stained blue. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Carnegie Institution for Science/California Institute of Technology, and Edward G. Ruby, California Institute of Technology. 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

Simulation of uncontrolled avian flu outbreak

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This video simulation shows what an uncontrolled outbreak of transmissible avian flu among people living in Thailand might look like. Neil M. Ferguson, Imperial College London View Media

Fruit fly ovarioles

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Three fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) ovarioles (yellow, blue, and magenta) with egg cells visible inside them. Ovarioles are tubes in the reproductive systems of female insects. Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. 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

Yeast cells with Fimbrin Fim1

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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

NCMIR human spinal nerve

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Spinal nerves are part of the peripheral nervous system. They run within the spinal column to carry nerve signals to and from all parts of the body. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Dividing yeast cells with spindle pole bodies and contractile rings

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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

Mouse liver labeled with fluorescent probe

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A mouse liver glows after being tagged with specially designed infrared-fluorescent protein (IFP). Xiaokun Shu, University of California, San Diego View Media

Antibiotic-surviving bacteria

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Colonies of bacteria growing despite high concentrations of antibiotics. These colonies are visible both by eye, as seen on the left, and by bioluminescence imaging, as seen on the right. Paul Stoodley, The Ohio State University. View Media

Induced stem cells from adult skin 04

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The human skin cells pictured contain genetic modifications that make them pluripotent, essentially equivalent to embryonic stem cells. James Thomson, University of Wisconsin-Madison 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

Misfolded proteins within in the mitochondria

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Misfolded proteins (green) within mitochondria (red). Related to video 5877. Rong Li rong@jhu.edu Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA. View Media

Vesicle traffic

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This illustration shows vesicle traffic inside a cell. Judith Stoffer View Media

Housekeeping cell illustration

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Cell mopping up. 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

DNA replication illustration (with labels)

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During DNA replication, each strand of the original molecule acts as a template for the synthesis of a new, complementary DNA strand. Crabtree + Company 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

Fruit fly retina 02

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Section of a fruit fly retina showing the light-sensing molecules rhodopsin-5 (blue) and rhodopsin-6 (red). Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Ribbon diagram of a cefotaxime-CCD-1 complex

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CCD-1 is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile that helps it resist antibiotics. Keith Hodgson, Stanford University. View Media

Cell in two stages of division

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

Ear hair cells derived from embryonic stem cells

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Mouse embryonic stem cells matured into this bundle of hair cells similar to the ones that transmit sound in the ear. Stefen Heller, Stanford University, via CIRM View Media

Circadian rhythms and the SCN

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Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. NIGMS View Media

Pig trypsin (2)

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A crystal of porcine trypsin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media

RNA strand (with labels)

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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) has a sugar-phosphate backbone and the bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U). Featured in The New Genetics. Crabtree + Company View Media

Dicer generates microRNAs

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The enzyme Dicer generates microRNAs by chopping larger RNA molecules into tiny Velcro®-like pieces. MicroRNAs stick to mRNA molecules and prevent the mRNAs from being made into proteins. Crabtree + Company View Media

Zika virus

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Zika virus is shown in cross section at center left. On the outside, it includes envelope protein (red) and membrane protein (magenta) embedded in a lipid membrane (light purple). Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media

Color-coded chromosomes

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By mixing fluorescent dyes like an artist mixes paints, scientists are able to color code individual chromosomes. Anna Jauch, Institute of Human Genetics, Heidelberg, Germany View Media

Peripheral nerve cell derived from ES cells

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

Borrelia burgdorferi

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Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete, a class of long, slender bacteria that typically take on a coiled shape. Infection with this bacterium causes Lyme disease. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Lily mitosis 04

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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

Enzymes convert subtrates into products (with labels)

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Enzymes convert substrates into products very quickly. See image 2521 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media

Cytoskeleton

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The three fibers of the cytoskeleton--microtubules in blue, intermediate filaments in red, and actin in green--play countless roles in the cell. Judith Stoffer View Media

Phenylalanine tRNA molecule

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Phenylalanine tRNA showing the anticodon (yellow) and the amino acid, phenylalanine (blue and red spheres). Patrick O'Donoghue and Dieter Soll, Yale University View Media

Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 3

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Cell-like compartments that spontaneously emerged from scrambled frog eggs. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are visible. Image created using epifluorescence microscopy. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media

Protein from E. faecalis

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X-ray structure of a DNA repair enzyme superfamily representative from the human gastrointestinal bacterium Enterococcus faecalis. Midwest Center for Structural Genomics View Media

Natcher Building 08

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NIGMS staff are located in the Natcher Building on the NIH campus. Alisa Machalek, National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Crystals of CCD-1 in complex with cefotaxime

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CCD-1 is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile that helps it resist antibiotics. Keith Hodgson, Stanford University. View Media

Cytoscape network wiring diagram 2

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This image integrates the thousands of known molecular and genetic interactions happening inside our bodies using a computer program called Cytoscape. Trey Ideker, University of California, San Diego 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

Cells lining the trachea

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In this image, viewed with a ZEISS ORION NanoFab microscope, the community of cells lining a mouse airway is magnified more than 10,000 times. Eva Mutunga and Kate Klein, University of the District of Columbia and National Institute of Standards and Technology View Media

Young squids

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Real-time movie of young squids. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

Human liver cell (hepatocyte)

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Hepatocytes, like the one shown here, are the most abundant type of cell in the human liver. Donna Beer Stolz, University of Pittsburgh View Media

NCMIR Intestine-2

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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

Skin cross-section

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

Intasome

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Salk researchers captured the structure of a protein complex called an intasome (center) that lets viruses similar to HIV establish permanent infection in their hosts. National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy http://nramm.nysbc.org/nramm-images/ Source: Bridget Carragher View Media

Measles virus proteins

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A cross section of the measles virus in which six proteins (enlarged on the outside of the virus) work together to infect cells. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media

Transient receptor potential channel TRPV5

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A 3D reconstruction of a transient receptor potential channel called TRPV5 that was created based on cryo-electron microscopy images. Vera Moiseenkova-Bell, University of Pennsylvania. 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

Fluorescent E. coli bacteria

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Bioengineers were able to coax bacteria to blink in unison on microfluidic chips. They called each blinking bacterial colony a biopixel. Thousands of fluorescent E. Jeff Hasty Lab, UC San Diego View Media