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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.
Larvae from the parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis
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The parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis hatches in water and grows up in a freshwater snail, as shown here. Bo Wang and Phillip A. Newmark, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 FASEB BioArt winner 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
Bone cancer cell
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This image shows an osteosarcoma cell with DNA in blue, energy factories (mitochondria) in yellow, and actin filaments—part of the cellular skeleton—in purple. Dylan Burnette and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, NICHD 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
Pig trypsin (2)
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A crystal of porcine trypsin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media
Serratezomine A
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A 3-D model of the alkaloid serratezomine A shows the molecule's complex ring structure. View Media
Mouse sperm sections
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This transmission electron micrograph shows sections of mouse sperm tails, or flagella. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media
Carbon building blocks (with examples)
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The arrangement of identical molecular components can make a dramatic difference. For example, carbon atoms can be arranged into dull graphite (left) or sparkly diamonds (right). Crabtree + Company View Media
Nerve and glial cells in fruit fly embryo
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Glial cells (stained green) in a fruit fly developing embryo have survived thanks to a signaling pathway initiated by neighboring nerve cells (stained red). Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media
Cryo-ET cross-section of the Golgi apparatus
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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 3D, color-coded version of the image highlighting cell structures. Xianjun Zhang, University of Southern California. View Media
Secreted protein from Mycobacteria
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Model of a major secreted protein of unknown function, which is only found in mycobacteria, the class of bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI View Media
Most abundant protein in M. tuberculosis
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Model of a protein, antigen 85B, that is the most abundant protein exported by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes most cases of tuberculosis. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI View Media
NCMIR kidney-1
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Stained kidney tissue. The kidney is an essential organ responsible for disposing wastes from the body and for maintaining healthy ion levels in the blood. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Focal adhesions (with labels)
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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
Ribonuclease P structure
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Ribbon diagram showing the structure of Ribonuclease P with tRNA. PDB entry 3Q1Q, molecular modeling by Fred Friedman, NIGMS 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
Protein purification facility
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The Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics protein purification facility is responsible for purifying all recombinant proteins produced by the center. Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics View Media
Axolotl
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An axolotl—a type of salamander—that has been genetically modified so that its developing nervous system glows purple and its Schwann cell nuclei appear light blue. Prayag Murawala, MDI Biological Laboratory and Hannover Medical School. 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
Activation energy (with labels)
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To become products, reactants must overcome an energy hill. See image 2525 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Crabtree + Company View Media
Respiratory droplet
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This painting shows a cross section of a small respiratory droplet, like the ones that are thought to transmit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media
Cancer Cells Glowing from Luciferin
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The activator cancer cell culture, right, contains a chemical that causes the cells to emit light when in the presence of immune cells. Mark Sellmyer, Stanford University School of Medicine View Media
CRISPR Illustration Frame 5
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This illustration shows, in simplified terms, how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used as a gene-editing tool. This is the fifthframe in a series of five. View Media
RNA strand
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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) has a sugar-phosphate backbone and the bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U). Crabtree + Company View Media
Sleep and the fly brain
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In the top snapshots, the brain of a sleep-deprived fruit fly glows orange, marking high concentrations of a synaptic protein called Bruchpilot (BRP) involved in communication between neurons. Chiara Cirelli, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media
Hydra 01
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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
VDAC video 01
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This video shows the structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. Gerhard Wagner, Harvard Medical School 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
NCMIR Tongue 2
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Microscopy image of a tongue. One in a series of two, see image 5810 National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) 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
Enzymes convert subtrates into products (with labels)
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Enzymes convert substrates into products very quickly. See image 2521 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media
SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid dimer
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In SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, nucleocapsid is a complex molecule with many functional parts. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media
RNA interference (with labels)
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RNA interference or RNAi is a gene-silencing process in which double-stranded RNAs trigger the destruction of specific RNAs. Crabtree + Company View Media
Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum
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A computer model shows how the endoplasmic reticulum is close to and almost wraps around mitochondria in the cell. The endoplasmic reticulum is lime green and the mitochondria are yellow. Bridget Wilson, University of New Mexico 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
Nucleolus subcompartments spontaneously self-assemble 2
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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
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
Vimentin in a quail embryo
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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
Microtubules and tau aggregates
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Microtubules (magenta) and tau protein (light blue) in a cell model of tauopathy. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media
VDAC-1 (4)
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The structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. Gerhard Wagner, Harvard Medical School 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
Retroviruses as fossils
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DNA doesn't leave a fossil record in stone, the way bones do. Instead, the DNA code itself holds the best evidence for organisms' genetic history. Emily Harrington, science illustrator View Media
PanC from M. tuberculosis
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Model of an enzyme, PanC, that is involved in the last step of vitamin B5 biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PanC is essential for the growth of M. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Center, PSI View Media
Catalase diversity
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Catalases are some of the most efficient enzymes found in cells. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media
Pig trypsin (3)
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Crystals of porcine trypsin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media
Genetic patchworks
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Each point in these colorful patchworks represents the correlation between two sleep-associated genes in fruit flies. Susan Harbison and Trudy Mackay, North Carolina State University View Media
Heart muscle with reprogrammed skin cells
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Skins cells were reprogrammed into heart muscle cells. The cells highlighted in green are remaining skin cells. Red indicates a protein that is unique to heart muscle. Deepak Srivastava, Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, 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
Bioluminescent imaging in adult zebrafish 04
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Luciferase-based imaging enables visualization and quantification of internal organs and transplanted cells in live adult zebrafish. View Media
Seeing signaling protein activation in cells 01
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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
