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.

CCP enzyme

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The enzyme CCP is found in the mitochondria of baker’s yeast. Scientists study the chemical reactions that CCP triggers, which involve a water molecule, iron, and oxygen. Protein Data Bank. View Media

Natcher Building 03

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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

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

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

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

Chromosome inside nucleus

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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

HIV-1 virus in the colon

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A tomographic reconstruction of the colon shows the location of large pools of HIV-1 virus particles (in blue) located in the spaces between adjacent cells. Mark Ladinsky, California Institute of Technology View Media

Beta-galactosidase montage showing cryo-EM improvement--transparent 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

X-ray co-crystal structure of Src kinase bound to a DNA-templated macrocycle inhibitor 6

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X-ray co-crystal structure of Src kinase bound to a DNA-templated macrocycle inhibitor. Markus A. Seeliger, Stony Brook University Medical School and David R. Liu, Harvard University View Media

Electrostatic map of human spermine synthase

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From PDB entry 3c6k, Crystal structure of human spermine synthase in complex with spermidine and 5-methylthioadenosine. Emil Alexov, Clemson University View Media

Dopamine D3 receptor

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The receptor is shown bound to an antagonist, eticlopride Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Vesicle traffic

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

Glow-in-the-dark salamanders

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These six-month-old axolotls, a kind of salamander, glow green and blue under ultraviolet light. That's because they were genetically modified to make harmless green fluorescent protein, or GFP. 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

Zebrafish embryo showing vasculature

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A zebrafish embryo. The blue areas are cell bodies, the green lines are blood vessels, and the red glow is blood. Kevin Eliceiri, University of Wisconsin-Madison. View Media

Capillary protein crystallization robot

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This ACAPELLA robot for capillary protein crystallization grows protein crystals, freezes them, and centers them without manual intervention. Structural Genomics of Pathogenic Protozoa Consortium View Media

CRISPR Illustration Frame 4

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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

Introns (with labels)

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Genes are often interrupted by stretches of DNA (introns, blue) that do not contain instructions for making a protein. Crabtree + Company View Media

Human ES cells turn into insulin-producing cells

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Human embryonic stem cells were differentiated into cells like those found in the pancreas (blue), which give rise to insulin-producing cells (red). Eugene Brandon, ViaCyte, via CIRM View Media

Cryo-electron microscopy revealing the "wasabi receptor"

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The TRPA1 protein is responsible for the burn you feel when you taste a bite of sushi topped with wasabi. Jean-Paul Armache, UCSF View Media

Smooth muscle from human ES cells

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These smooth muscle cells were derived from human embryonic stem cells. The nuclei are stained blue, and the proteins of the cytoskeleton are stained green. Alexey Terskikh lab, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, via CIRM View Media

Group of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae

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

Body toxins (with labels)

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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

CRISPR illustration

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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

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

Dicer generates microRNAs (with labels)

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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

Flu virus proteins during self-replication

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Influenza (flu) virus proteins in the act of self-replication. Viral nucleoprotein (blue) encapsidates [encapsulates] the RNA genome (green). Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA View Media

Snowflake yeast 1

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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

Mitosis - metaphase

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A cell in metaphase during mitosis: The copied chromosomes align in the middle of the spindle. Judith Stoffer 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

Animal cell membrane

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The membrane that surrounds a cell is made up of proteins and lipids. Judith Stoffer View Media

How cilia do the wave

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Thin, hair-like biological structures called cilia are tiny but mighty. Zvonimir Dogic, Brandeis University View Media

Beta2-adrenergic receptor protein

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Crystal structure of the beta2-adrenergic receptor protein. The Stevens Laboratory, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Molecular interactions at the astrocyte nuclear membrane

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These ripples of color represent the outer membrane of the nucleus inside an astrocyte, a star-shaped cell inside the brain. Katerina Akassoglou, Gladstone Institute for Neurological Disease & UCSF View Media

Mouse brain 1

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A mouse brain that was genetically modified so that subpopulations of its neurons glow. Prayag Murawala, MDI Biological Laboratory and Hannover Medical School. View Media

Seeing signaling protein activation in cells 02

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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

Statistical cartography

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Like a world of its own, this sphere represents all the known chemical reactions in the E. coli bacterium. Luis A. Nunes Amaral, Northwestern University View Media

Hippocampal neuron from rodent brain

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Hippocampal neuron from rodent brain with dendrites shown in blue. The hundreds of tiny magenta, green and white dots are the dendritic spines of excitatory synapses. Shelley Halpain, UC San Diego View Media

VDAC-1 (1)

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The structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. Gerhard Wagner, Harvard Medical School View Media

Finding one bug

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A nanometer-sized biosensor can detect a single deadly bacterium in tainted ground beef. How? Weihong Tan, University of Florida in Gainesville View Media

The 26S proteasome engages with a protein substrate

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The proteasome is a critical multiprotein complex in the cell that breaks down and recycles proteins that have become damaged or are no longer needed. Andreas Martin, HHMI 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

Serum albumin structure 1

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Serum albumin (SA) is the most abundant protein in the blood plasma of mammals. SA has a characteristic heart-shape structure and is a highly versatile protein. Wladek Minor, University of Virginia 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

A multicolored fish scale 2

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Each of the tiny colored specs in this image is a cell on the surface of a fish scale. Chen-Hui Chen and Kenneth Poss, Duke University View Media

Induced pluripotent stem cells from skin 02

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These induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) were derived from a woman's skin. Blue show nuclei. Green show a protein found in iPS cells but not in skin cells (NANOG). Kathrin Plath lab, University of California, Los Angeles, via CIRM View Media

Early life of a protein

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This illustration represents the early life of a protein—specifically, apomyoglobin—as it is synthesized by a ribosome and emerges from the ribosomal tunnel, which contains the newly formed protein's Silvia Cavagnero, University of Wisconsin, Madison View Media

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