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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.

Proteasome

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This fruit fly spermatid recycles various molecules, including malformed or damaged proteins. Sigi Benjamin-Hong, Rockefeller University View Media

Human embryonic stem cells

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The center cluster of cells, colored blue, shows a colony of human embryonic stem cells. James Thomson, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media

Cytoskeleton

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The three fibers of the cytoskeleton--microtubules in blue, intermediate filaments in red, and actin in green--play countless roles in the cell. Judith Stoffer View Media

Kinases

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

Serum albumin structure 3

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Serum albumin (SA) is the most abundant protein in the blood plasma of mammals. SA has a characteristic heart-shape structure and is a highly versatile protein. Wladek Minor, University of Virginia 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

Life in balance

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Mitosis creates cells, and apoptosis kills them. The processes often work together to keep us healthy. Judith Stoffer View Media

Human ES cells differentiating into neurons

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This image shows hundreds of human embryonic stem cells in various stages of differentiating into neurons. Guoping Fan lab, University of California, Los Angeles, via CIRM View Media

Beta-galactosidase montage showing cryo-EM improvement--gradient background

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Composite image of beta-galactosidase showing how cryo-EM’s resolution has improved dramatically in recent years. Older images to the left, more recent to the right. Veronica Falconieri, Sriram Subramaniam Lab, National Cancer Institute View Media

Telomeres on outer edge of nucleus during cell division

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New research shows telomeres moving to the outer edge of the nucleus after cell division, suggesting these caps that protect chromosomes also may play a role in organizing DNA. Laure Crabbe, Jamie Kasuboski and James Fitzpatrick, Salk Institute for Biological Studies View Media

Panorama view of golden mitochondria

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Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells, generating the energy the cells need to do their tasks and to stay alive. Torsten Wittmann, University of California, San Francisco View Media

Chromatin in human fibroblast

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The nucleus of a human fibroblast cell with chromatin—a substance made up of DNA and proteins—shown in various colors. Melike Lakadamyali, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. View Media

Cryogenic storage tanks at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research

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Established in 1953, the Coriell Institute for Medical Research distributes cell lines and DNA samples to researchers around the world. Courtney Sill, Coriell Institute for Medical Research View Media

Yeast cells with endocytic actin patches

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Yeast cells with endocytic actin patches (green). These patches help cells take in outside material. When a cell is in interphase, patches concentrate at its ends. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Motion in the brain

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Amid a network of blood vessels and star-shaped support cells, neurons in the brain signal each other. The mists of color show the flow of important molecules like glucose and oxygen. Kim Hager and Neal Prakash, University of California, Los Angeles View Media

DNA and actin in cultured fibroblast cells

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DNA (blue) and actin (red) in cultured fibroblast cells. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide opioid receptor

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The receptor is shown bound to an antagonist, compound-24 Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Zebrafish embryo

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A zebrafish embryo showing its natural colors. Zebrafish have see-through eggs and embryos, making them ideal research organisms for studying the earliest stages of development. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. 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

Centrioles anchor cilia in planaria

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Centrioles (green) anchor cilia (red), which project on the surface of pharynx cells of the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. Juliette Azimzadeh, University of California, San Francisco View Media

HIV-1 virus in the colon

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A tomographic reconstruction of the colon shows the location of large pools of HIV-1 virus particles (in blue) located in the spaces between adjacent cells. Mark Ladinsky, California Institute of Technology View Media

Magnetic Janus particle activating a T cell

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A Janus particle being used to activate a T cell, a type of immune cell. Yan Yu, Indiana University, Bloomington. View Media

Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743) with hydrogens 04

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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

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

Computer model of cell membrane

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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

Partial Model of a Cilium’s Doublet Microtubule

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Cilia (cilium in singular) are complex molecular machines found on many of our cells. Brown Lab, Harvard Medical School and Veronica Falconieri Hays. View Media

A chromosome goes missing in anaphase

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Anaphase is the critical step during mitosis when sister chromosomes are disjoined and directed to opposite spindle poles, ensuring equal distribution of the genome during cell division. View Media

C. elegans trapped by carnivorous fungus

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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

VDAC-1 (3)

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The structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. Gerhard Wagner, Harvard Medical School View Media

Chromosomes after crossing over

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

Fluorescent microscopy of kidney tissue

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Serum albumin (SA) is the most abundant protein in the blood plasma of mammals. SA has a characteristic heart-shape structure and is a highly versatile protein. Tom Deerinck , National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Confocal microscopy image of two Drosophila ovarioles

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Ovarioles in female insects are tubes in which egg cells (called oocytes) form at one end and complete their development as they reach the other end of the tube. 2004 Olympus BioScapes Competition View Media

Myotonic dystrophy type 2 genetic defect

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Scientists revealed a detailed image of the genetic defect that causes myotonic dystrophy type 2 and used that information to design drug candidates to counteract the disease. Matthew Disney, Scripps Research Institute and Ilyas Yildirim, Northwestern University View Media

Pig trypsin (1)

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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

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

Dividing yeast cells with nuclear envelopes and spindle pole bodies

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Time-lapse video of yeast cells undergoing cell division. Nuclear envelopes are shown in green, and spindle pole bodies, which help pull apart copied genetic information, are shown in magenta. Alaina Willet, Kathy Gould’s lab, Vanderbilt University. View Media

Circadian rhythms and the SCN

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Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. NIGMS View Media

Pathways: What is Basic Science?

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Learn about basic science, sometimes called “pure” or “fundamental” science, and how it contributes to the development of medical treatments. National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media

Glowing glycans

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Sugars light up the cells in this jaw of a 3-day-old zebrafish embryo and highlight a scientific first: labeling and tracking the movements of sugar chains called glycans in a living organism. Carolyn Bertozzi, University of California, Berkeley View Media

Human opioid receptor structure superimposed on poppy

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Opioid receptors on the surfaces of brain cells are involved in pleasure, pain, addiction, depression, psychosis, and other conditions. Raymond Stevens, The Scripps Research Institute View Media

Q fever bacteria in an infected cell

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This image shows Q fever bacteria (yellow), which infect cows, sheep, and goats around the world and can infect humans, as well. When caught early, Q fever can be cured with antibiotics. Robert Heinzen, Elizabeth Fischer, and Anita Mora, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health View Media

Glucose and sucrose

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Glucose (top) and sucrose (bottom) are sugars made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates include simple sugars like these and are the main source of energy for the human body. Crabtree + Company View Media

Tracking cells in a gastrulating zebrafish embryo

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During development, a zebrafish embryo is transformed from a ball of cells into a recognizable body plan by sweeping convergence and extension cell movements. This process is called gastrulation. Liliana Solnica-Krezel, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 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

Trp_RS - tryptophanyl tRNA-synthetase family of enzymes

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This image represents the structure of TrpRS, a novel member of the tryptophanyl tRNA-synthetase family of enzymes. View Media

Yeast cell

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A whole yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cell viewed by X-ray microscopy. Inside, the nucleus and a large vacuole (red) are visible. Carolyn Larabell, University of California, San Francisco and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory View Media

Intasome

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Salk researchers captured the structure of a protein complex called an intasome (center) that lets viruses similar to HIV establish permanent infection in their hosts. National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy http://nramm.nysbc.org/nramm-images/ Source: Bridget Carragher 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

Human retinal organoid

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A replica of a human retina grown from stem cells. Kevin Eliceiri, University of Wisconsin-Madison. View Media