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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.
From DNA to Protein (labeled)
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The genetic code in DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is translated into proteins with specific sequences. Crabtree + Company View Media
Automated Worm Sorter - 4
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Georgia Tech associate professor Hang Lu holds a microfluidic chip that is part of a system that uses artificial intelligence and cutting-edge image processing to automatically examine large number of Georgia Tech/Gary Meek View Media
NMR spectrometer
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This photo shows a Varian Unity Inova 900 MHz, 21.1 T standard bore magnet Nuclear Magnetic Resonnance (NMR) spectrometer. Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics View Media
Bacterial glucose isomerase
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A crystal of bacterial glucose isomerase protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media
Fly cells
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a movie worth? Denise Montell, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 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
Pores on the surface of the Hawaiian bobtail squid light organ
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The light organ (~0.5 mm across) of a juvenile Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, stained blue. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Carnegie Institution for Science/California Institute of Technology, and Edward G. Ruby, California Institute of Technology. View Media
Lily mitosis 06
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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
Microscopy image of bird-and-flower DNA origami
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An atomic force microscopy image shows DNA folded into an intricate, computer-designed structure. Hao Yan, Arizona State University View Media
Blood clots show their flex
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Blood clots stop bleeding, but they also can cause heart attacks and strokes. Eric Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign View Media
Cell-free protein synthesizers
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Both instruments shown were developed by CellFree Sciences of Yokohama, Japan. Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics View Media
Cytoscape network diagram 1
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Molecular biologists are increasingly relying on bioinformatics software to visualize molecular interaction networks and to integrate these networks with data such as gene expression profiles. Keiichiro Ono, Trey Ideker lab, University of California, San Diego 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
Microsporidia in roundworm 1
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Many disease-causing microbes manipulate their host’s metabolism and cells for their own ends. Keir Balla and Emily Troemel, University of California San Diego View Media
Mouse retina close-up
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Keunyoung ("Christine") Kim National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Intracellular forces
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Force vectors computed from actin cytoskeleton flow. This is an example of NIH-supported research on single-cell analysis. Gaudenz Danuser, Harvard Medical School View Media
Building blocks and folding of proteins
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Proteins are made of amino acids hooked end-to-end like beads on a necklace. To become active, proteins must twist and fold into their final, or "native," conformation. Crabtree + Company View Media
Mouse brain 1
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A mouse brain that was genetically modified so that subpopulations of its neurons glow. Prayag Murawala, MDI Biological Laboratory and Hannover Medical School. 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
Fluorescent C. elegans showing muscle and ribosomal protein
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C. elegans, a tiny roundworm, 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
Multivesicular bodies containing intralumenal vesicles assemble at the vacuole 2
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Collecting and transporting cellular waste and sorting it into recylable and nonrecylable pieces is a complex business in the cell. Matthew West and Greg Odorizzi, University of Colorado View Media
Fruit fly retina 02
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Section of a fruit fly retina showing the light-sensing molecules rhodopsin-5 (blue) and rhodopsin-6 (red). Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media
Epithelial cells
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This image mostly shows normal cultured epithelial cells expressing green fluorescent protein targeted to the Golgi apparatus (yellow-green) and stained for actin (magenta) and DNA (cyan). Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Anglerfish ovary cross-section
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This image captures the spiral-shaped ovary of an anglerfish in cross-section. Once matured, these eggs will be released in a gelatinous, floating mass. James E. Hayden, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. View Media
Two-headed Xenopus laevis tadpole
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Xenopus laevis, the African clawed frog, has long been used as a research organism for studying embryonic development. Michael Klymkowsky, University of Colorado, Boulder View Media
Color coding of the Drosophila brain - black background
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This image results from a research project to visualize which regions of the adult fruit fly (Drosophila) brain derive from each neural stem cell. Yong Wan from Charles Hansen’s lab, University of Utah. Data preparation and visualization by Masayoshi Ito in the lab of Kei Ito, University of Tokyo. View Media
Nucleotides make up DNA (with labels)
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DNA consists of two long, twisted chains made up of nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains one base, one phosphate molecule, and the sugar molecule deoxyribose. Crabtree + Company View Media
Rotavirus structure
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This image shows a computer-generated, three-dimensional map of the rotavirus structure. This virus infects humans and other animals and causes severe diarrhea in infants and young children. Bridget Carragher, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA View Media
Fruit fly spermatids
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Developing spermatids (precursors of mature sperm cells) begin as small, round cells and mature into long-tailed, tadpole-shaped ones. Lacramioara Fabian, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada 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
C. elegans showing internal structures
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An image of Caenorhabditis elegans, a tiny roundworm, showing internal structures including the intestine, pharynx, and body wall muscle. C. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. 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
How a microtubule builds and deconstructs
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A microtubule, part of the cell's skeleton, builds and deconstructs. View Media
Cell-like compartments from frog eggs 6
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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
DDR2 Receptors Attach to Collagen in Breast Tumor
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On the left, the boundary of a breast tumor (yellow) attaches to collagen fibers that are closest to it (green) using DDR2. On the right, a tumor without DDR2 remains disconnected from the collagen. Callie Corsa and Suzanne Ponik, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 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
Cell division with late aligning chromosomes
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This video shows an instance of abnormal mitosis where chromosomes are late to align. Gary Gorbsky, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation View Media
Chromosome inside nucleus
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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
Neural circuits in worms similar to those in humans
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Green and yellow fluorescence mark the processes and cell bodies of some C. elegans neurons. Shawn Xu, University of Michigan View Media
Nano-rainbow
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These vials may look like they're filled with colored water, but they really contain nanocrystals reflecting different colors under ultraviolet light. Shuming Nie, Emory University 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
Taste buds signal different tastes through ATP release
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Taste buds in a mouse tongue epithelium with types I, II, and III taste cells visualized by cell-type-specific fluorescent antibodies. Aki Taruno, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania View Media
A multicolored fish scale 2
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Each of the tiny colored specs in this image is a cell on the surface of a fish scale. Chen-Hui Chen and Kenneth Poss, Duke University View Media
Retinal pigment epithelium derived from human ES cells 02
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This image shows a layer of retinal pigment epithelium cells derived from human embryonic stem cells, highlighting the nuclei (red) and cell surfaces (green). David Buckholz and Sherry Hikita, University of California, Santa Barbara, via CIRM 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
CRISPR Illustration Frame 2
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This illustration shows, in simplified terms, how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used as a gene-editing tool. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. View Media
Cell-like compartments from frog eggs
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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
Early life of a protein
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This illustration represents the early life of a protein—specifically, apomyoglobin—as it is synthesized by a ribosome and emerges from the ribosomal tunnel, which contains the newly formed protein's Silvia Cavagnero, University of Wisconsin, Madison View Media
Los ritmos circadianos y el núcleo supraquiasmático
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Los ritmos circadianos son cambios físicos, mentales y de comportamiento que siguen un ciclo de 24 horas. NIGMS View Media
Trigonium diatom
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A Trigonium diatom imaged by a quantitative orientation-independent differential interference contrast (OI-DIC) microscope. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media
