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.

A multicolored fish scale 2

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Each of the tiny 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

Alternative splicing

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Arranging exons in different patterns, called alternative splicing, enables cells to make different proteins from a single gene. Crabtree + Company View Media

Endoplasmic reticulum abnormalities 2

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Human cells with the gene that codes for the protein FIT2 deleted. After an experimental intervention, they are expressing a nonfunctional version of FIT2, shown in green. Michel Becuwe, Harvard University. View Media

DNA replication origin recognition complex (ORC)

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A study published in March 2012 used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of the DNA replication origin recognition complex (ORC), a semi-circular, protein complex (yellow) that recogni Huilin Li, Brookhaven National Laboratory View Media

Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 3

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What looks a little like distant planets with some mysterious surface features are actually assemblies of proteins normally found in the cell's nucleolus, a small but very important protein complex lo Nilesh Vaidya, Princeton University View Media

EM of yeast cell division

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Cell division is an incredibly coordinated process. Matthew West and Greg Odorizzi, University of Colorado View Media

Chromosomes before crossing over

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Duplicated pair of chromosomes lined up and ready to cross over. Judith Stoffer View Media

Lily mitosis 08

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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

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

Dolly the sheep

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Scientists in Scotland were the first to clone an animal, this sheep named Dolly. She later gave birth to Bonnie, the lamb next to her. View Media

Hippocampal neuron in culture

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Hippocampal neuron in culture. Dendrites are green, dendritic spines are red and DNA in cell's nucleus is blue. Shelley Halpain, UC San Diego View Media

Histones in chromatin

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Histone proteins loop together with double-stranded DNA to form a structure that resembles beads on a string. Crabtree + Company View Media

Life of an AIDS virus

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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

Pulsating response to stress in bacteria - video

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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

Lily mitosis 13

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A light microscope image of cells 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

Circadian rhythm (with labels)

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The human body keeps time with a master clock called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN. Crabtree + Company 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

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

Zebrafish embryo

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Just 22 hours after fertilization, this zebrafish embryo is already taking shape. By 36 hours, all of the major organs will have started to form. Philipp Keller, Bill Lemon, Yinan Wan, and Kristin Branson, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Va. View Media

Group of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae

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Mosquito larvae with genes edited by CRISPR. Valentino Gantz, University of California, San Diego. View Media

Chromosomes after crossing over

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Duplicated pair of chromosomes have exchanged material. Judith Stoffer View Media

Cas4 nuclease protein structure

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This wreath represents the molecular structure of a protein, Cas4, which is part of a system, known as CRISPR, that bacteria use to protect themselves against viral invaders. Fred Dyda, NIDDK View Media

Golden gene chips

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A team of chemists and physicists used nanotechnology and DNA's ability to self-assemble with matching RNA to create a new kind of chip for measuring gene activity. Hao Yan and Yonggang Ke, Arizona State University View Media

Wild-type and mutant fruit fly ovaries

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The two large, central, round shapes are ovaries from a typical fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. 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

Alternative splicing (with labels)

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Arranging exons in different patterns, called alternative splicing, enables cells to make different proteins from a single gene. Featured in The New Genetics. Crabtree + Company View Media

Dividing cells showing chromosomes and cell skeleton

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This pig cell is in the process of dividing. The chromosomes (purple) have already replicated and the duplicates are being pulled apart by fibers of the cell skeleton known as microtubules (green). Nasser Rusan, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health 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

Dynamic cryo-EM model of the human transcription preinitiation complex

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Gene transcription is a process by which information encoded in DNA is transcribed into RNA. Eva Nogales, Berkeley Lab 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

Central dogma, illustrated (with labels)

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Fruit fly ovary_2

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A fruit fly ovary, shown here, contains as many as 20 eggs. Fruit flies are not merely tiny insects that buzz around overripe fruit--they are a venerable scientific tool. Denise Montell, University of California, Santa Barbara View Media

Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of sleeping sickness

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Trypanosoma brucei is a single-cell parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. Michael Rout, Rockefeller University View Media

Bottles of warfarin

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In 2007, the FDA modified warfarin's label to indicate that genetic makeup may affect patient response to the drug. The widely used blood thinner is sold under the brand name Coumadin®. Alisa Machalek, NIGMS/NIH View Media

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

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in mouse ES cells shows DNA interactions

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Researchers used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to confirm the presence of long range DNA-DNA interactions in mouse embryonic stem cells. Kathrin Plath, University of California, Los Angeles View Media

Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 1

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The nucleolus is a small but very important protein complex located in the cell's nucleus. Nilesh Vaidya, Princeton University View Media

Brain showing hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease

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Along with blood vessels (red) and nerve cells (green), this mouse brain shows abnormal protein clumps known as plaques (blue). Alvin Gogineni, Genentech View Media

A molecular interaction network in yeast 2

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The image visualizes a part of the yeast molecular interaction network. Keiichiro Ono, UCSD View Media

Fused, dicentric chromosomes

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This fused chromosome has two functional centromeres, shown as two sets of red and green dots. Beth A. Sullivan, Duke University View Media

Central dogma, illustrated (with labels and numbers for stages)

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Recombinant DNA

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To splice a human gene into a plasmid, scientists take the plasmid out of an E. coli bacterium, cut the plasmid with a restriction enzyme, and splice in human DNA. Crabtree + Company 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

Developing zebrafish fin

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Originally from the waters of India, Nepal, and neighboring countries, zebrafish can now be found swimming in science labs (and home aquariums) throughout the world. Jessica Plavicki 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

Fruit fly ovary

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A fruit fly ovary, shown here, contains as many as 20 eggs. Fruit flies are not merely tiny insects that buzz around overripe fruit—they are a venerable scientific tool. Denise Montell, Johns Hopkins University and University of California, Santa Barbara View Media

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