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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.

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

Rhodopsin bound to visual arrestin

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Rhodopsin is a pigment in the rod cells of the retina (back of the eye). It is extremely light-sensitive, supporting vision in low-light conditions. Protein Data Bank. View Media

Quorum-sensing inhibitor limits bacterial growth

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To simulate the consequences of disrupting bacterial cell-to-cell communication, called quorum sensing, in the crypts (small chambers within the colon), the researchers experimented with an inhibitor Minyoung Kevin Kim and Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University View Media

HeLa cells

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Multiphoton fluorescence image of HeLa cells stained with the actin binding toxin phalloidin (red), microtubules (cyan) and cell nuclei (blue). Nikon RTS2000MP custom laser scanning microscope. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Planting roots

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At the root tips of the mustard plant Arabidopsis thaliana (red), two proteins work together to control the uptake of water and nutrients. Philip Benfey, Duke University View Media

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

O2 reacting with a flavin-dependent enzyme

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Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan 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

RAC1 activation in motile fibroblast

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Novel biosensor system maps the timing and location of Rac protein activation in a living mouse embryo fibroblast. Klaus Hahn, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Medical School 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

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

Yeast cells with Fimbrin Fim1

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Yeast cells with the protein Fimbrin Fim1 shown in magenta. This protein plays a role in cell division. This image was captured using wide-field microscopy with deconvolution.
Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Chromosome inside nucleus (with labels)

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The long, stringy DNA that makes up genes is spooled within chromosomes inside the nucleus of a cell. Crabtree + Company View Media

Enzymes convert subtrates into products

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Enzymes convert substrates into products very quickly. See image 2522 for a labeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media

Fluorescent E. coli bacteria

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Bioengineers were able to coax bacteria to blink in unison on microfluidic chips. They called each blinking bacterial colony a biopixel. Thousands of fluorescent E. Jeff Hasty Lab, UC San Diego View Media

Mouse heart muscle cells 02

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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

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

Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743) with hydrogens 03

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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

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

Natcher Building 07

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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

Crawling cell

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A crawling cell with DNA shown in blue and actin filaments, which are a major component of the cytoskeleton, visible in pink. Actin filaments help enable cells to crawl. Dylan T. Burnette, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. View Media

Cell division phases in Xenopus frog cells

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These images show three stages of cell division in Xenopus XL177 cells, which are derived from tadpole epithelial cells. They are (from top): metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Claire Walczak, who took them while working as a postdoc in the laboratory of Timothy Mitchison View Media

Diversity oriented synthesis: generating skeletal diversity using folding processes

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This 1 1/2-minute video animation was produced for chemical biologist Stuart Schreiber's lab page. The animation shows how diverse chemical structures can be produced in the lab. Eric Keller View Media

Sphingolipid S1P1 receptor

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The receptor is shown bound to an antagonist, ML056. Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Epithelial cell migration

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High-resolution time lapse of epithelial (skin) cell migration and wound healing. It shows an image taken every 13 seconds over the course of almost 14 minutes. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

Bee venom toxin destroying a cell

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This video condenses 6.5 minutes into less than a minute to show how the toxin in bee venom, called melittin, destroys an animal or bacterial cell. Huey Huang, Rice University View Media

Hair cells: the sound-sensing cells in the ear

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These cells get their name from the hairlike structures that extend from them into the fluid-filled tube of the inner ear. Henning Horn, Brian Burke, and Colin Stewart, Institute of Medical Biology, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Singapore View Media

Soft X-ray tomography of a pancreatic beta cell

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A color-coded, 3D model of a rat pancreatic β cell. This type of cell produces insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. Carolyn Larabell, University of California, San Francisco. View Media

Human embryonic stem cells on feeder cells

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The nuclei stained green highlight human embryonic stem cells grown under controlled conditions in a laboratory. Blue represents the DNA of surrounding, supportive feeder cells. Julie Baker lab, Stanford University School of Medicine, via CIRM 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

Lipid raft

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Researchers have learned much of what they know about membranes by constructing artificial membranes in the laboratory. Judith Stoffer View Media

Bicycling cell

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A humorous treatment of the concept of a cycling cell. Judith Stoffer View Media

Protein kinases as cancer chemotherapy targets

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Protein kinases—enzymes that add phosphate groups to molecules—are cancer chemotherapy targets because they play significant roles in almost all aspects of cell function, are tightly regulated, and co Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media

Fruit fly retina 01

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Image showing rhabdomeres (red), the light-sensitive structures in the fruit fly retina, and rhodopsin-4 (blue), a light-sensing molecule. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University 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

Natcher Building 03

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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

Floral pattern in a mixture of two bacterial species, Acinetobacter baylyi and Escherichia coli, grown on a semi-solid agar for 48 hours (photo 2)

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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

Modeling disease spread

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What looks like a Native American dream catcher is really a network of social interactions within a community. Stephen Eubank, University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute (formerly Virginia Bioinformatics Institute) 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

Space-filling model of a cefotaxime-CCD-1 complex

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CCD-1 is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile that helps it resist antibiotics. Keith Hodgson, Stanford University. View Media

Bacterial nanowire model

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A model of a Geobacter sulfurreducens nanowire created from cryo-electron microscopy images. Edward Egelman, University of Virginia. View Media

Confocal microscopy of perineuronal nets in the brain 2

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The photo shows a confocal microscopy image of perineuronal nets (PNNs), which are specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) structures in the brain. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

ATP synthase

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The world's smallest motor, ATP synthase, generates energy for the cell. See image 2518 for a labeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company View Media

Nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase

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Model of the enzyme nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase. Berkeley Structural Genomics Center, PSI View Media

Bovine milk alpha-lactalbumin (2)

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Crystals 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

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

Human Adenovirus

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The cryo-EM structure of human adenovirus D26 (HAdV-D26) at near atomic resolution (3.7 Å), determined in collaboration with the NRAMM facility*. National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy http://nramm.nysbc.org/nramm-images/ Source: Bridget Carragher View Media

TonB protein in gram-negative bacteria

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The green in this image highlights a protein called TonB, which is produced by many gram-negative bacteria, including those that cause typhoid fever, meningitis and dysentery. Phillip Klebba, Kansas State University View Media

Ion channel

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A special "messy" region of a potassium ion channel is important in its function. Yu Zhoi, Christopher Lingle Laboratory, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis View Media

Draper, shown in the fatbody of a Drosophila melanogaster larva

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The fly fatbody is a nutrient storage and mobilization organ akin to the mammalian liver. The engulfment receptor Draper (green) is located at the cell surface of fatbody cells. Christina McPhee and Eric Baehrecke, University of Massachusetts Medical School View Media