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.

How a microtubule builds and deconstructs

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A microtubule, part of the cell's skeleton, builds and deconstructs. 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

Regeneration of Mouse Ears

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Normal mice, like the B6 breed pictured on the left, develop scars when their ears are pierced. Ellen Heber-Katz, The Wistar Institute 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

Larvae from the parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis

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The parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis hatches in water and grows up in a freshwater snail, as shown here. Bo Wang and Phillip A. Newmark, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 FASEB BioArt winner View Media

Mitochondria from rat heart muscle cell_2

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These mitochondria (brown) are from the heart muscle cell of a rat. Mitochondria have an inner membrane that folds in many places (and that appears here as striations). National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Mature, flowering Arabidopsis

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This is an adult flowering Arabidopsis thaliana plant with the inbred designation L-er. Arabidopsis is the most widely used model organism for researchers who study plant genetics. Jeff Dangl, 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

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

Induced stem cells from adult skin 03

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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

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

Dinosaur evolutionary tree

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Analysis of 68 million-year-old collagen molecule fragments preserved in a T. Chris Organ, Harvard University 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

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

Fruit fly larvae brains showing tubulin

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Two fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larvae brains with neurons expressing fluorescently tagged tubulin protein. Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. View Media

Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743) with hydrogens 03

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Ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743, brand name Yondelis), was discovered and isolated from a sea squirt, Ecteinascidia turbinata, by NIGMS grantee Kenneth Rinehart at the University of Illinois. Timothy Jamison, Massachusetts Institute of Technology View Media

Mitochondria

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Bean-shaped mitochondria are cells' power plants. These organelles have their own DNA and replicate independently. The highly folded inner membranes are the site of energy generation. Judith Stoffer 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

Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743), structure without hydrogens 03

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Fly cells

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If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a movie worth? Denise Montell, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 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

Building blocks and folding of proteins

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Proteins are made of amino acids hooked end-to-end like beads on a necklace. To become active, proteins must twist and fold into their final, or "native," conformation. Crabtree + Company View Media

Vimentin in a quail embryo

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Video of high-resolution confocal images depicting vimentin immunofluorescence (green) and nuclei (blue) at the edge of a quail embryo yolk. Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech 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

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

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

Cell cycle

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Cells progress through a cycle that consists of phases for growth (blue, green, yellow) and division (red). Cells become quiescent when they exit this cycle (purple). Crabtree + Company View Media

Most abundant protein in M. tuberculosis

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Model of a protein, antigen 85B, that is the most abundant protein exported by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes most cases of tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI View Media

Bacterial spore

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A spore from the bacterium Bacillus subtilis shows four outer layers that protect the cell from harsh environmental conditions. Patrick Eichenberger, New York University View Media

Nucleolinus

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The nucleolinus is a cellular compartment that has been a lonely bystander in scientific endeavors. Mary Anne Alliegro, Marine Biological Laboratory View Media

Mapping metabolic activity

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Like a map showing heavily traveled roads, this mathematical model of metabolic activity inside an E. coli cell shows the busiest pathway in white. Albert-László Barabási, University of Notre Dame 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

Thermotoga maritima and its metabolic network

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A combination of protein structures determined experimentally and computationally shows us the complete metabolic network of a heat-loving bacterium. View Media

Color coding of the Drosophila brain - video

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This video results from a research project to visualize which regions of the adult fruit fly (Drosophila) brain derive from each neural stem cell. Yong Wan from Charles Hansen’s lab, University of Utah. Data preparation and visualization by Masayoshi Ito in the lab of Kei Ito, University of Tokyo. View Media

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

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Myelinated axons 2

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Top view of myelinated axons in a rat spinal root. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) 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

Floral pattern in a mixture of two bacterial species, Acinetobacter baylyi and Escherichia coli, grown on a semi-solid agar for 48 hours (photo 1)

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Floral pattern emerging as two bacterial species, motile Acinetobacter baylyi (red) and non-motile Escherichia coli (green), are grown together for 48 hours on 1% agar surface from a sma L. Xiong et al, eLife 2020;9: e48885 View Media

Insulin and protein interact in pancreatic beta cells

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A large number of proteins interact with the hormone insulin as it is produced in and secreted from the beta cells of the pancreas. William E. Balch, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Chemokine CXCR4 receptor

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The receptor is shown bound to a small molecule peptide called CVX15. Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute 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

Catalase diversity

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Catalases are some of the most efficient enzymes found in cells. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. 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

Fluorescent microscopy of kidney tissue

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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. Tom Deerinck , National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Developing nerve cells

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These developing mouse nerve cells have a nucleus (yellow) surrounded by a cell body, with long extensions called axons and thin branching structures called dendrites. Torsten Wittmann, University of California, San Francisco View Media

Structure of Glutamate Dehydrogenase

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Some children are born with a mutation in a regulatory site on this enzyme that causes them to over-secrete insulin when they consume protein. Judy Coyle, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center View Media

Structure of telomerase

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Scientists recently discovered the full molecular structure of telomerase, an enzyme important to aging and cancer. Jiansen Jiang, Edward J. Miracco, Z. Hong Zhou and Juli Feigon, University of California, Los Angeles; Kathleen Collins, University of California, Berkeley View Media

Yeast cells with endocytic actin patches

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Yeast cells with endocytic actin patches (green). These patches help cells take in outside material. When a cell is in interphase, patches concentrate at its ends. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Seeing signaling protein activation in cells 04

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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

Axolotls showing nervous system components

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Axolotls—a type of salamander—that have been genetically modified so that various parts of their nervous systems glow purple and green. Prayag Murawala, MDI Biological Laboratory and Hannover Medical School. View Media

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