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.

Smooth ER

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The endoplasmic reticulum comes in two types: Rough ER is covered with ribosomes and prepares newly made proteins; smooth ER specializes in making lipids and breaking down toxic molecules. Judith Stoffer View Media

Fruitful dyes

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These colorful, computer-generated ribbons show the backbone of a molecule that glows a fluorescent red. Roger Y. Tsien, University of California, San Diego View Media

Biofilm blocking fluid flow

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This time-lapse movie shows that bacterial communities called biofilms can create blockages that prevent fluid flow in devices such as stents and catheters over a period of about 56 hours. Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University View Media

Dopaminergic neurons derived from mouse embryonic stem cells

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These neurons are derived from mouse embryonic stem cells. Red shows cells making a protein called TH that is characteristic of the neurons that degenerate in Parkinson's disease. Yaping Sun, lab of Su Guo, University of California, San Francisco, via CIRM View Media

Antitoxin GhoS (Illustration 1)

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Structure of the bacterial antitoxin protein GhoS. GhoS inhibits the production of a bacterial toxin, GhoT, which can contribute to antibiotic resistance. Rebecca Page and Wolfgang Peti, Brown University and Thomas K. Wood, Pennsylvania State University View Media

E. Coli

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Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR 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

Closeup of fluorescent C. elegans showing muscle and ribosomal protein

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Closeup of C. elegans, tiny roundworms, 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

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

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

Mouse heart muscle cells

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This image shows neonatal mouse heart cells. These cells were grown in the lab on a chip that aligns the cells in a way that mimics what is normally seen in the body. Kara McCloskey lab, University of California, Merced, via CIRM View Media

3D reconstruction of the Golgi apparatus in a pancreas cell

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Researchers used cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to capture images of a rat pancreas cell that were then compiled and color-coded to produce a 3D reconstruction. Xianjun Zhang, University of Southern California. 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

X-ray co-crystal structure of Src kinase bound to a DNA-templated macrocycle inhibitor 7

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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

Ribosome illustration from PDB

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Ribosomes are complex machines made up of more than 50 proteins and three or four strands of genetic material called ribosomal RNA (rRNA). From PDB’s Molecule of the Month collection (direct link: http://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/121) Molecule of the Month illustrations are available under a CC-BY-4.0 license. Attribution should be given to David S. Goodsell and the RCSB PDB. View Media

Sea urchin embryo 03

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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

Computer algorithm

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This computer algorithm plots all feasible small carbon-based molecules as though they were cities on a map and identifies huge, unexplored spaces that may help fuel research into new drug therapies. Aaron Virshup, Julia Contreras-Garcia, Peter Wipf, Weitao Yang and David Beratan, University of Pittsburgh Center for Chemical Methodologies and Library Development 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

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

Electrostatic map of the adeno-associated virus

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The new highly efficient parallelized DelPhi software was used to calculate the potential map distribution of an entire virus, the adeno-associated virus, which is made up of more than 484,000 atoms. Emil Alexov, Clemson University View Media

Circadian rhythm

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

ATP synthase (with labels)

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The world's smallest motor, ATP synthase, generates energy for the cell. See image 2517 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company View Media

Sponge

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Many of today's medicines come from products found in nature, such as this sponge found off the coast of Palau in the Pacific Ocean. Phil Baran, Scripps Research Institute View Media

Leading cells with light

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A blue laser beam turns on a protein that helps this human cancer cell move. Responding to the stimulus, the protein, called Rac1, first creates ruffles at the edge of the cell. Yi Wu, University of North Carolina View Media

Disrupted vascular development in frog embryos

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Disassembly of vasculature in kdr:GFP frogs following addition of 250 µM TBZ. Related to images 3404 and 3505. Hye Ji Cha, University of Texas at Austin View Media

Fruit fly ovaries

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Fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) ovaries with DNA shown in magenta and actin filaments shown in light blue. This image was captured using a confocal laser scanning microscope.
Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. View Media

Adult Hawaiian bobtail squid burying in the sand

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Each morning, the nocturnal Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, hides from predators by digging into the sand. At dusk, it leaves the sand again to hunt. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Carnegie Institution for Science/California Institute of Technology, and Edward G. Ruby, California Institute of Technology. View Media

Drosophila (fruit fly) myosin 1D motility assay

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Actin gliding powered by myosin 1D. Note the counterclockwise motion of the gliding actin filaments. Serapion Pyrpassopoulos and E. Michael Ostap, University of Pennsylvania 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

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

Worms and human infertility

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This montage of tiny, transparent C. elegans--or roundworms--may offer insight into understanding human infertility. Abby Dernburg, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory View Media

Dividing cell in metaphase

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This image of a mammalian epithelial cell, captured in metaphase, was the winning image in the high- and super-resolution microscopy category of the 2012 GE Healthcare Life Sciences Cell Imaging Compe Jane Stout in the laboratory of Claire Walczak, Indiana University, GE Healthcare 2012 Cell Imaging Competition View Media

Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 4

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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

Natcher Building 04

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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

Network diagram of genes, cellular components and processes (unlabeled)

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This image shows the hierarchical ontology of genes, cellular components and processes derived from large genomic datasets. From Dutkowski et al. Janusz Dutkowski and Trey Ideker View Media

Histone deacetylases

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The human genome contains much of the information needed for every cell in the body to function. However, different types of cells often need different types of information. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media

Molecular interactions

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This network map shows molecular interactions (yellow) associated with a congenital condition that causes heart arrhythmias and the targets for drugs that alter these interactions (red and blue). Ravi Iyengar, Mount Sinai School of Medicine View Media

Seeing signaling protein activation in cells 03

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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

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

Network diagram of genes, cellular components and processes (labeled)

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This image shows the hierarchical ontology of genes, cellular components and processes derived from large genomic datasets. From Dutkowski et al. Janusz Dutkowski and Trey Ideker, University of California, San Diego View Media

Cytochrome structure with anticancer drug

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This image shows the structure of the CYP17A1 enzyme (ribbons colored from blue N-terminus to red C-terminus), with the associated heme colored black. Emily Scott, University of Kansas 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

Sea urchin embryo 02

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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

Antibodies in silica honeycomb

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Antibodies are among the most promising therapies for certain forms of cancer, but patients must take them intravenously, exposing healthy tissues to the drug and increasing the risk of side effects. Chenghong Lei, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory & Karl Erik Hellstrom, University of Washington View Media

Protein involved in cell division from Mycoplasma pneumoniae

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Model of a protein involved in cell division from Mycoplasma pneumoniae. This model, based on X-ray crystallography, revealed a structural domain not seen before. Berkeley Structural Genomics Center, PSI View Media

Morphine Structure

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The chemical structure of the morphine molecule Judy Coyle, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center View Media

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

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