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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.
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
Himastatin, 360-degree view
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A 360-degree view of the molecule himastatin, which was first isolated from the bacterium Streptomyces himastatinicus. Himastatin shows antibiotic activity. Mohammad Movassaghi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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
Spreading Cells- 02
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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
Lysosome clusters around amyloid plaques
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It's probably most people's least favorite activity, but we still need to do it--take out our trash. Otherwise our homes will get cluttered and smelly, and eventually, we'll get sick. Swetha Gowrishankar and Shawn Ferguson, Yale School of Medicine View Media
Zebrafish pigment cell
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Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington View Media
Life in balance
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Mitosis creates cells, and apoptosis kills them. The processes often work together to keep us healthy. Judith Stoffer View Media
Protein formation
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Proteins are 3D structures made up of smaller units. DNA is transcribed to RNA, which in turn is translated into amino acids. NIGMS, with the folded protein illustration adapted from Jane Richardson, Duke University Medical Center View Media
Microsporidia in roundworm 2
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Many disease-causing microbes manipulate their host’s metabolism and cells for their own ends. Keir Balla and Emily Troemel, University of California San Diego View Media
Natcher Building 01
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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
Abnormal, spiky fibroblast
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This is a fibroblast, a connective tissue cell that plays an important role in wound healing. Normal fibroblasts have smooth edges. Praveen Suraneni, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Mo. 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
STORM image of axonal cytoskeleton
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This image shows the long, branched structures (axons) of nerve cells. Xiaowei Zhuang Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University View Media
Carbon building blocks (with examples)
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The arrangement of identical molecular components can make a dramatic difference. For example, carbon atoms can be arranged into dull graphite (left) or sparkly diamonds (right). Crabtree + Company View Media
Bioluminescent imaging in adult zebrafish 04
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Luciferase-based imaging enables visualization and quantification of internal organs and transplanted cells in live adult zebrafish. View Media
Drugs enter skin (with labels)
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Drugs enter different layers of skin via intramuscular, subcutaneous, or transdermal delivery methods. See image 2531 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company View Media
Misfolded proteins in mitochondria, 3-D video
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Three-dimensional image of misfolded proteins (green) within mitochondria (red). Related to image 5878. Rong Li, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University View Media
White Poppy (cropped)
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A cropped image of a white poppy. View poppy uncropped here 3424. Judy Coyle, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center View Media
Mouse retina close-up
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Keunyoung ("Christine") Kim National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Activation energy (with labels)
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To become products, reactants must overcome an energy hill. See image 2525 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company View Media
Intracellular forces
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Force vectors computed from actin cytoskeleton flow. This is an example of NIH-supported research on single-cell analysis. Gaudenz Danuser, Harvard Medical School View Media
VDAC video 02
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This video shows the structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. Gerhard Wagner, Harvard Medical School View Media
Virtual snow world
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Glide across an icy canyon, where you see smiling snowmen and waddling penguins. Toss a snowball, hear it smash against an igloo, and then watch it explode in bright colors. David Patterson and Hunter Hoffmann, University of Washington View Media
Central dogma, illustrated
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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
Cerebellum: the brain's locomotion control center
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The cerebellum of a mouse is shown here in cross-section. The cerebellum is the brain's locomotion control center. Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San Diego View Media
“Two-faced” Janus particle activating a macrophage
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A macrophage—a type of immune cell that engulfs invaders—“eats” and is activated by a “two-faced” Janus particle. Yan Yu, Indiana University, Bloomington. View Media
Isolated Planarian Pharynx
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The feeding tube, or pharynx, of a planarian worm with cilia shown in red and muscle fibers shown in green 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
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
Nucleus and rough ER
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The nucleus contains the DNA of eukaryotic cells. Judith Stoffer View Media
Closeup of fluorescent C. elegans showing muscle and ribosomal protein
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Closeup of C. elegans, tiny roundworms, with a ribosomal protein glowing red and muscle fibers glowing green. Researchers used these worms to study a molecular pathway that affects aging. Jarod Rollins, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. View Media
Sea urchin embryo 01
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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
Secreted protein from Mycobacteria
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Model of a major secreted protein of unknown function, which is only found in mycobacteria, the class of bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI 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
Group of fluorescent C. elegans showing muscle and ribosomal protein
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Three C. elegans, tiny roundworms, with a ribosomal protein glowing red and muscle fibers glowing green. Researchers used these worms to study a molecular pathway that affects aging. Jarod Rollins, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. View Media
Cells keep their shape with actin filaments and microtubules
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This image shows a normal fibroblast, a type of cell that is common in connective tissue and frequently studied in research labs. James J. Faust and David G. Capco, Arizona State University View Media
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
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
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
Endoplasmic reticulum abnormalities
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Human cells with the gene that codes for the protein FIT2 deleted. Green indicates an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein. Michel Becuwe, Harvard University. View Media
Meiosis illustration
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Meiosis is the process whereby a cell reduces its chromosomes from diploid to haploid in creating eggs or sperm. Crabtree + Company View Media
Introns
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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
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
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
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Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, has infected one-quarter of the world's population and causes more than one million deaths each year, according to the Reuben Peters, Iowa State University View Media
Independence Day
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This graphic that resembles a firework was created from a picture of a fruit fly spermatid. Sigi Benjamin-Hong, Rockefeller University View Media
Single-cell “radios” image
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Individual cells are color-coded based on their identity and signaling activity using a protein circuit technology developed by the Coyle Lab. Scott Coyle, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 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
How a microtubule builds and deconstructs
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A microtubule, part of the cell's skeleton, builds and deconstructs. View Media
A multicolored fish scale 1
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Each of the 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
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
