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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.
Neuron with labeled synapses
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In this image, recombinant probes known as FingRs (Fibronectin Intrabodies Generated by mRNA display) were expressed in a cortical neuron, where they attached fluorescent proteins to either PSD95 (gre Don Arnold and Richard Roberts, University of Southern California. View Media
Mitotic cell awaits chromosome alignment
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During mitosis, spindle microtubules (red) attach to chromosome pairs (blue), directing them to the spindle equator. View Media
Lily mitosis 09
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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
Pigment cells in fish skin
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Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington View Media
Brains of sleep-deprived and well-rested fruit flies
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On top, the brain of a sleep-deprived fly glows orange because of Bruchpilot, a communication protein between brain cells. These bright orange brain areas are associated with learning. Chiara Cirelli, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media
Pathways: What is Basic Science?
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Learn about basic science, sometimes called “pure” or “fundamental” science, and how it contributes to the development of medical treatments. National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media
Q fever bacteria in an infected cell
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This image shows Q fever bacteria (yellow), which infect cows, sheep, and goats around the world and can infect humans, as well. When caught early, Q fever can be cured with antibiotics. Robert Heinzen, Elizabeth Fischer, and Anita Mora, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health View Media
Cells frozen in time
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The fledgling field of X-ray microscopy lets researchers look inside whole cells rapidly frozen to capture their actions at that very moment. Here, a yeast cell buds before dividing into two. Carolyn Larabell, University of California, San Francisco, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 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
Focal adhesions
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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
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
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
Cell toxins
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A number of environmental factors cause DNA mutations that can lead to cancer: toxins in cigarette smoke, sunlight and other radiation, and some viruses. Judith Stoffer 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
Multivesicular bodies containing intralumenal vesicles assemble at the vacuole 1
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Collecting and transporting cellular waste and sorting it into recylable and nonrecylable pieces is a complex business in the cell. Matthew West and Greg Odorizzi, University of Colorado View Media
Beta-galactosidase montage showing cryo-EM improvement--gradient 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
Fruit fly brain responds to adipokines
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Drosophila adult brain showing that an adipokine (fat hormone) generates a response from neurons (aqua) and regulates insulin-producing neurons (red).Akhila Rajan, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center View Media
Vibrio bacteria
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Vibrio, a type (genus) of rod-shaped bacteria. Some Vibrio species cause cholera in humans. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media
HeLa cells
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Multiphoton fluorescence image of cultured HeLa cells with a fluorescent protein targeted to the Golgi apparatus (orange), microtubules (green) and counterstained for DNA (cyan). National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) 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
Egg comparison
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The largest human cell (by volume) is the egg. Human eggs are 150 micrometers in diameter and you can just barely see one with a naked eye. In comparison, consider the eggs of chickens...or ostriches! Judith Stoffer View Media
See how immune cell acid destroys bacterial proteins
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This animation shows the effect of exposure to hypochlorous acid, which is found in certain types of immune cells, on bacterial proteins. American Chemistry Council View Media
Peripheral nerve cells derived from ES cells
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Peripheral nerve cells made from human embryonic stem cell-derived neural crest stem cells. Stephen Dalton, University of Georgia View Media
Colorful cells
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Actin (purple), microtubules (yellow), and nuclei (green) are labeled in these cells by immunofluorescence. This image won first place in the Nikon 2003 Small World photo competition. Torsten Wittmann, Scripps Research Institute 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
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
Dicty fruit
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Dictyostelium discoideum is a microscopic amoeba. A group of 100,000 form a mound as big as a grain of sand. Featured in The New Genetics. View Media
Apoptosis reversed
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Two healthy cells (bottom, left) enter into apoptosis (bottom, center) but spring back to life after a fatal toxin is removed (bottom, right; top). Hogan Tang of the Denise Montell Lab, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine View Media
Lily mitosis 02
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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
Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 5
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Cell-like compartments that spontaneously emerged from scrambled frog eggs, with nuclei (blue) from frog sperm. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are also visible. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media
Induced stem cells from adult skin 01
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These cells are induced stem cells made from human adult skin cells that were genetically reprogrammed to mimic embryonic stem cells. James Thomson, University of Wisconsin-Madison 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
Quartered torso
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Cells function within organs and tissues, such as the lungs, heart, intestines, and kidney. Judith Stoffer View Media
Cryo-electron tomography of a Caulobacter bacterium
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3D image of Caulobacter bacterium with various components highlighted: cell membranes (red and blue), protein shell (green), protein factories known as ribosomes (yellow), and storage granules Peter Dahlberg, Stanford University. 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
Worm sperm
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To develop a system for studying cell motility in unnatrual conditions -- a microscope slide instead of the body -- Tom Roberts and Katsuya Shimabukuro at Florida State University disassembled and rec Tom Roberts, Florida State University View Media
Neural circuits in worms similar to those in humans
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Green and yellow fluorescence mark the processes and cell bodies of some C. elegans neurons. Shawn Xu, University of Michigan View Media
