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Immune cell attacks cell infected with a retrovirus
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T cells engulf and digest cells displaying markers (or antigens) for retroviruses, such as HIV. Kristy Whitehouse, science illustrator View Media
Neurons from human ES cells
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These neural precursor cells were derived from human embryonic stem cells. The neural cell bodies are stained red, and the nuclei are blue. Xianmin Zeng lab, Buck Institute for Age Research, via CIRM 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
A Growing Bacterial Biofilm
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A growing Vibrio cholerae (cholera) biofilm. Cholera bacteria form colonies called biofilms that enable them to resist antibiotic therapy within the body and other challenges to their growth. Jing Yan, Ph.D., and Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D., Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. View Media
Hydra 04
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Hydra magnipapillata is an invertebrate animal used as a model organism to study developmental questions, for example the formation of the body axis. Hiroshi Shimizu, National Institute of Genetics in Mishima, Japan View Media
PanC from M. tuberculosis
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Model of an enzyme, PanC, that is involved in the last step of vitamin B5 biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PanC is essential for the growth of M. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI View Media
NCMIR Tongue 2
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Microscopy image of a tongue. One in a series of two, see image 5810 National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Shiga toxin
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E. coli bacteria normally live harmlessly in our intestines, but some cause disease by making toxins. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media
Oligoendopeptidase F from B. stearothermophilus
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Crystal structure of oligoendopeptidase F, a protein slicing enzyme from Bacillus stearothermophilus, a bacterium that can cause food products to spoil. Accelerated Technologies Center for Gene to 3D Structure/Midwest Center for Structural Genomics View Media
Crane fly spermatocyte undergoing meiosis
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A crane fly spermatocyte during metaphase of meiosis-I, a step in the production of sperm. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media
Anchor cell in basement membrane
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An anchor cell (red) pushes through the basement membrane (green) that surrounds it. Elliott Hagedorn, Duke University. View Media
Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743) with hydrogens 02
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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
Human blood cells with Borrelia hermsii, a bacterium that causes relapsing fever
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Relapsing fever is caused by a bacterium and transmitted by certain soft-bodied ticks or body lice. The disease is seldom fatal in humans, but it can be very serious and prolonged. NIAID View Media
Fruit fly egg chamber
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A fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) egg chamber with microtubules shown in green and actin filaments shown in red. Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. View Media
Fruit fly nurse cells transporting their contents 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
Spinal nerve cells
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Neurons (green) and glial cells from isolated dorsal root ganglia express COX-2 (red) after exposure to an inflammatory stimulus (cell nuclei are blue). Lawrence Marnett, Vanderbilt University 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
Sea urchin embryo 06
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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
Mouse embryo showing Smad4 protein
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This eerily glowing blob isn't an alien or a creature from the deep sea--it's a mouse embryo just eight and a half days old. The green shell and core show a protein called Smad4. Kenneth Zaret, Fox Chase Cancer Center View Media
Focal adhesions (with labels)
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Cells walk along body surfaces via tiny "feet," called focal adhesions, that connect with the extracellular matrix. Crabtree + Company View Media
Nucleotides make up DNA (with labels)
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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
A mammalian eye has approximately 70 different cell types
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The incredible complexity of a mammalian eye (in this case from a mouse) is captured here. Each color represents a different type of cell. Bryan William Jones and Robert E. Marc, University of Utah 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
Staphylococcus aureus aggregating upon contact with synovial fluid
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Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (green) grouping together upon contact with synovial fluid—a viscous substance found in joints. Paul Stoodley, The Ohio State University. 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
Dynamin Fission
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Time lapse series shows short dynamin assemblies (not visible) constricting a lipid tube to make a "beads on a string" appearance, then cutting off one of the beads i.e., catalyzing membrane fission). Ramachandran, Pucadyil et al. , The Scripps Research Institute 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
Pulsating response to stress in bacteria
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By attaching fluorescent proteins to the genetic circuit responsible for B. subtilis's stress response, researchers can observe the cells' pulses as green flashes. Michael Elowitz, Caltech University View Media
Bioluminescence in a Tube
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Details about the basic biology and chemistry of the ingredients that produce bioluminescence are allowing scientists to harness it as an imaging tool. Credit: Nathan Shaner, Scintillon Institute. Nathan Shaner, Scintillon Institute View Media
Tetrapolar mitosis
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This image shows an abnormal, tetrapolar mitosis. Chromosomes are highlighted pink. The cells shown are S3 tissue cultured cells from Xenopus laevis, African clawed frog. Gary Gorbsky, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation View Media
Petri dish containing C. elegans
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This Petri dish contains microscopic roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans. Researchers used these particular worms to study how C. H. Robert Horvitz and Dipon Ghosh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. View Media
Small blood vessels in a mouse retina
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Blood vessels at the back of the eye (retina) are used to diagnose glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. They also display characteristic changes in people with high blood pressure. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media
Cell-like compartments emerging from scrambled frog eggs 3
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Cell-like compartments spontaneously emerge from scrambled frog eggs. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are visible. Video created using epifluorescence microscopy. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media
Bond types
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Ionic and covalent bonds hold molecules, like sodium chloride and chlorine gas, together. Hydrogen bonds among molecules, notably involving water, also play an important role in biology. Crabtree + Company View Media
Myelinated axons 1
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Myelinated axons in a rat spinal root. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) 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
Protein map
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Network diagram showing a map of protein-protein interactions in a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cell. This cluster includes 78 percent of the proteins in the yeast proteome. Hawoong Jeong, KAIST, Korea View Media
Fluorescent C. elegans showing muscle and ribosomal protein
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C. elegans, a tiny roundworm, 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
Master clock of the mouse brain
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An image of the area of the mouse brain that serves as the 'master clock,' which houses the brain's time-keeping neurons. The nuclei of the clock cells are shown in blue. Erik Herzog, Washington University in St. Louis 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
Synapses in culture
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Cultured hippocampal neurons grown on a substrate of glial cells (astrocytes). The glial cells form the pink/brown underlayment in this image. The tan threads are the neurons. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media
Chromatin in human tenocyte
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The nucleus of a degenerating human tendon cell, also known as a tenocyte. It has been color-coded based on the density of chromatin—a substance made up of DNA and proteins. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media
Lily mitosis 06
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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
Haplotypes (with labels)
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Haplotypes are combinations of gene variants that are likely to be inherited together within the same chromosomal region. Crabtree + Company View Media
Two mouse fibroblast cells
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Two mouse fibroblasts, one of the most common types of cells in mammalian connective tissue. They play a key role in wound healing and tissue repair. Dylan T. Burnette, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. View Media
X-ray co-crystal structure of Src kinase bound to a DNA-templated macrocycle inhibitor 3
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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
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
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
Plastic-eating enzymes
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PETase enzyme degrades polyester plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET) into monohydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET). Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. 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
