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.

Hippocampal neuron from rodent brain

3686

Hippocampal neuron from rodent brain with dendrites shown in blue. The hundreds of tiny magenta, green and white dots are the dendritic spines of excitatory synapses. Shelley Halpain, UC San Diego View Media

A molecular interaction network in yeast 2

3732

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

Self-organizing proteins

2771

Under the microscope, an E. coli cell lights up like a fireball. Each bright dot marks a surface protein that tells the bacteria to move toward or away from nearby food and toxins. View Media

Active site of sulfite oxidase

2746

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

Protein map

2423

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

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

2797

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

Suicidal Stem Cells

3341

Embryonic stem cells store pre-activated Bax (red) in the Golgi, near the nucleus (blue). Featured in the June 21, 2012, issue of Biomedical Beat. Mohanish Deshmukh View Media

Pathways – Bacteria vs. Viruses: What's the Difference?

6597

Learn about how bacteria and viruses differ, how they each can make you sick, and how they can or cannot be treated. National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Single-Molecule Imaging

3339

This is a super-resolution light microscope image taken by Hiro Hakozaki and Masa Hoshijima of NCMIR. Tom Deerinck, NCMIR View Media

mDia1 antibody staining-01

3330

Cells move forward with lamellipodia and filopodia supported by networks and bundles of actin filaments. Proper, controlled cell movement is a complex process. Rong Li and Praveen Suraneni, Stowers Institute for Medical Research View Media

Polarized cells- 02

3333

Computer model of cell membrane

2636

A computer model of the cell membrane, where the plasma membrane is red, endoplasmic reticulum is yellow, and mitochondria are blue. Bridget Wilson, University of New Mexico View Media

Three muscle fibers; the middle has a defect found in some neuromuscular diseases

3630

Of the three muscle fibers shown here, the one on the right and the one on the left are normal. The middle fiber is deficient a large protein called nebulin (blue). Christopher Pappas and Carol Gregorio, University of Arizona View Media

Pathways: What is It? | Why Scientists Study Cells

6540

Learn how curiosity about the world and our cells is key to scientific discoveries. National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Dividing cell in metaphase

3445

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

Fruit fly egg chamber

6811

A fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) egg chamber with microtubules shown in green and actin filaments shown in red. Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. View Media

Chromosome fiber 01

2475

This microscopic image shows a chromatin fiber--a DNA molecule bound to naturally occurring proteins. Marc Green and Susan Forsburg, University of Southern California View Media

G switch (with labels and stages)

2538

The G switch allows our bodies to respond rapidly to hormones. G proteins act like relay batons to pass messages from circulating hormones into cells. Crabtree + Company View Media

Atomic-level structure of the HIV capsid

6601

This animation shows atoms of the HIV capsid, the shell that encloses the virus's genetic material. Juan R. Perilla and the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign View Media

DNA replication illustration (with labels)

2544

During DNA replication, each strand of the original molecule acts as a template for the synthesis of a new, complementary DNA strand. Crabtree + Company View Media

RNA polymerase

6993

RNA polymerase (purple) is a complex enzyme at the heart of transcription. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media

Hydra 05

2441

Hydra magnipapillata is an invertebrate animal used as a model organism to study developmental questions, for example the formation of the body axis. Hiroshi Shimizu, National Institute of Genetics in Mishima, Japan View Media

Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743), structure without hydrogens 01

2794

Video of Calling Cards in a mouse brain

6781

The green spots in this mouse brain are cells labeled with Calling Cards, a technology that records molecular events in brain cells as they mature. NIH Director's Blog View Media

Rhodopsin bound to visual arrestin

6768

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

ATP synthase (with labels)

2518

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

Vimentin in a quail embryo

2807

Confocal image showing high levels of the protein vimentin (white) at the edge zone of a quail embryo. Cell nuclei are labeled green. Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech View Media

Breast cancer cells change migration phenotypes

6986

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

Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of sleeping sickness

3765

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

Thymidylate synthase complementing protein from Thermotoga maritime

2387

A model of thymidylate synthase complementing protein from Thermotoga maritime. Joint Center for Structural Genomics, PSI View Media

Protein involved in cell division from Mycoplasma pneumoniae

2377

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

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

3417

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

Misfolded proteins within in the mitochondria

5878

Misfolded proteins (green) within mitochondria (red). Related to video 5877. Rong Li rong@jhu.edu Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA. View Media

Lily mitosis 04

1014

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

Influenza virus attaches to host membrane (with labels)

2505

Influenza A infects a host cell when hemagglutinin grips onto glycans on its surface. Crabtree + Company View Media

PanB from M. tuberculosis (2)

2382

Model of an enzyme, PanB, from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes most cases of tuberculosis. This enzyme is an attractive drug target. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI-1 View Media

Mouse Brain Cross Section

5886

The brain sections are treated with fluorescent antibodies specific to a particular protein and visualized using serial electron microscopy (SEM). Anton Maximov, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA View Media

C. elegans trapped by carnivorous fungus

6963

Real-time footage of Caenorhabditis elegans, a tiny roundworm, trapped by a carnivorous fungus, Arthrobotrys dactyloides. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

Modeling disease spread

2322

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

Purkinje cells are one of the main cell types in the brain

3637

This image captures Purkinje cells (red), one of the main types of nerve cell found in the brain. Yinghua Ma and Timothy Vartanian, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. View Media

Planting roots

2329

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

Planarian stem cell colony

3306

Planarians are freshwater flatworms that have powerful abilities to regenerate their bodies, which would seem to make them natural model organisms in which to study stem cells. Peter Reddien, Whitehead Institute View Media

Kinases

2534

Kinases are enzymes that add phosphate groups (red-yellow structures) to proteins (green), assigning the proteins a code. Crabtree + Company View Media

Endoplasmic reticulum abnormalities

6773

Human cells with the gene that codes for the protein FIT2 deleted. Green indicates an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein. Michel Becuwe, Harvard University. View Media

Dengue virus membrane protein structure

3758

Dengue virus is a mosquito-borne illness that infects millions of people in the tropics and subtropics each year. Like many viruses, dengue is enclosed by a protective membrane. Hong Zhou, UCLA View Media

Zinc finger

2426

The structure of a gene-regulating zinc finger protein bound to DNA. Jeremy M. Berg, National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

STORM image of axonal cytoskeleton

3678

This image shows the long, branched structures (axons) of nerve cells. Xiaowei Zhuang Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University View Media

Natcher Building 09

1089

NIGMS staff are located in the Natcher Building on the NIH campus. Alisa Machalek, National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Phenylalanine tRNA molecule

3406

Phenylalanine tRNA showing the anticodon (yellow) and the amino acid, phenylalanine (blue and red spheres). Patrick O'Donoghue and Dieter Soll, Yale University View Media

Golgi theories

1278

Two models for how material passes through the Golgi apparatus: the vesicular shuttle model and the cisternae maturation model. Judith Stoffer View Media

More Images...

View All Images