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.

Bubonic plague bacteria on part of the digestive system in a rat flea

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Here, bubonic plague bacteria (yellow) are shown in the digestive system of a rat flea (purple). The bubonic plague killed a third of Europeans in the mid-14th century. NIAID View Media

Yeast cells pack a punch

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Although they are tiny, microbes that are growing in confined spaces can generate a lot of pressure. In this video, yeast cells grow in a small chamber called a microfluidic bioreactor. Oskar Hallatschek, UC Berkeley View Media

Human skeletal muscle

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Cross section of human skeletal muscle. Image taken with a confocal fluorescent light microscope. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) 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

Breast cancer cells change migration phenotypes

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Cancer cells can change their migration phenotype, which includes their shape and the way that they move to invade different tissues. Bo Sun, Oregon State University. View Media

Cells use bubble-like structures called vesicles to transport cargo

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Cells use bubble-like structures called vesicles (yellow) to import, transport, and export cargo and in cellular communication. A single cell may be filled with thousands of moving vesicles.
Tatyana Svitkina, University of Pennsylvania View Media

Taste buds signal different tastes through ATP release

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Taste buds in a mouse tongue epithelium with types I, II, and III taste cells visualized by cell-type-specific fluorescent antibodies. Aki Taruno, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania View Media

Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743), structure without hydrogens 04

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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

Ribonuclease P structure

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Ribbon diagram showing the structure of Ribonuclease P with tRNA. PDB entry 3Q1Q, molecular modeling by Fred Friedman, NIGMS View Media

A molecular switch strips transcription factor from DNA

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In this video, Rice University scientists used molecular modeling with a mathematical algorithm called AWSEM (for associative memory, water-mediated, structure and energy model) and structural data to Davit Potoyan and Peter Wolynes View Media

Enzyme reaction

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Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by reducing the amount of energy needed for the reactions. NIGMS 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

Structure of a key antigen protein involved with Hepatitis C Virus infection

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A three-dimensional representation of the structure of E2, a key antigen protein involved with hepatitis C virus infection. Mansun Law Associate Professor Department of Immunolgy and Microbial Science The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Bovine milk alpha-lactalbumin (1)

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A crystal of bovine milk alpha-lactalbumin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine 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

ATP Synthase

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Atomic model of the membrane region of the mitochondrial ATP synthase built into a cryo-EM map at 3.6 Å resolution. ATP synthase is the primary producer of ATP in aerobic cells. Bridget Carragher, <a href="http://nramm.nysbc.org/">NRAMM National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy</a> View Media

NCMIR kidney-1

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Stained kidney tissue. The kidney is an essential organ responsible for disposing wastes from the body and for maintaining healthy ion levels in the blood. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Genetic mosaicism in fruit flies

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Fat tissue from the abdomen of a genetically mosaic adult fruit fly. Genetic mosaicism means that the fly has cells with different genotypes even though it formed from a single zygote. Akhila Rajan, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center 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

HIV Infected Cell

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The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), shown here as tiny purple spheres, causes the disease known as AIDS (for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Blinking bacteria

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Like a pulsing blue shower, E. coli cells flash in synchrony. Genes inserted into each cell turn a fluorescent protein on and off at regular intervals. Jeff Hasty, University of California, San Diego View Media

Plasma membrane

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The plasma membrane is a cell's protective barrier. See image 2524 for a labeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media

Folding@Home

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Stanford University scientist Vijay Pande decided to couple the power of computers with the help of the public. Judith Stoffer View Media

Confocal microscopy image of two Drosophila ovarioles

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Ovarioles in female insects are tubes in which egg cells (called oocytes) form at one end and complete their development as they reach the other end of the tube. 2004 Olympus BioScapes Competition View Media

Yeast cells with accumulated cell wall material

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Yeast cells that abnormally accumulate cell wall material (blue) at their ends and, when preparing to divide, in their middles. This image was captured using wide-field microscopy with deconvolution. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

In vitro assembly of a cell-signaling pathway

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T cells are white blood cells that are important in defending the body against bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Xiaolei Su, HHMI Whitman Center of the Marine Biological Laboratory 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

Fungal lipase (2)

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Crystals of fungal lipase protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media

Cryo-ET cell cross-section visualizing insulin vesicles

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On the left, a cross-section slice of a rat pancreas cell captured using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). On the right, a color-coded, 3D version of the image highlighting cell structures. Xianjun Zhang, University of Southern California. 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

Rotavirus structure

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This image shows a computer-generated, three-dimensional map of the rotavirus structure. This virus infects humans and other animals and causes severe diarrhea in infants and young children. Bridget Carragher, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA View Media

X-ray co-crystal structure of Src kinase bound to a DNA-templated macrocycle inhibitor 5

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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

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

Snowflake DNA origami

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An atomic force microscopy image shows DNA folded into an intricate, computer-designed structure. The image is featured on Biomedical Beat blog post Cool Images: A Holiday-Themed Collection. Hao Yan, Arizona State University View Media

Pathways: What's the Connection? | Different Jobs in a Science Lab

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Learn about some of the different jobs in a scientific laboratory and how researchers work as a team to make discoveries. National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Microtubules in African green monkey cells

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Microtubules in African green monkey cells. Microtubules are strong, hollow fibers that provide cells with structural support. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. 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

Active site of sulfite oxidase

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Sulfite oxidase is an enzyme that is essential for normal neurological development in children. John Enemark, University of Arizona View Media

Heart rates time series image

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These time series show the heart rates of four different individuals. Madalena Costa and Ary Goldberger, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center View Media

Symmetrically and asymmetrically elongating cells

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Merged fluorescent images of symmetrically (left) or asymmetrically (right) elongating HeLa cells at the end of early anaphase (magenta) and late anaphase (green). Tomomi Kiyomitsu and Iain M. Cheeseman, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research View Media

Glycoproteins

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About half of all human proteins include chains of sugar molecules that are critical for the proteins to function properly. Appears in the NIGMS booklet Inside the Cell. Judith Stoffer View Media

Cryogenic storage tanks at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research

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Established in 1953, the Coriell Institute for Medical Research distributes cell lines and DNA samples to researchers around the world. Courtney Sill, Coriell Institute for Medical Research View Media

Cryo-EM reveals how the HIV capsid attaches to a human protein to evade immune detection

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The illustration shows the capsid of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) whose molecular features were resolved with cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Juan R. Perilla, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign View Media

Life of an AIDS virus (with labels)

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HIV is a retrovirus, a type of virus that carries its genetic material not as DNA but as RNA. Crabtree + Company 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

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