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.

Synapses in culture

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Cultured hippocampal neurons grown on a substrate of glial cells (astrocytes). The glial cells form the pink/brown underlayment in this image. The tan threads are the neurons. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Worm sperm

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To develop a system for studying cell motility in unnatrual conditions -- a microscope slide instead of the body -- Tom Roberts and Katsuya Shimabukuro at Florida State University disassembled and rec Tom Roberts, Florida State University View Media

Introns

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Genes are often interrupted by stretches of DNA (introns, blue) that do not contain instructions for making a protein. Crabtree + Company View Media

Housekeeping cell illustration

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Cell mopping up. Judith Stoffer View Media

Mitosis - interphase

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A cell in interphase, at the start of mitosis: Chromosomes duplicate, and the copies remain attached to each other. Judith Stoffer View Media

Cultured cells

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This image of laboratory-grown cells was taken with the help of a scanning electron microscope, which yields detailed images of cell surfaces. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media

Pollen grains: male germ cells in plants and a cause of seasonal allergies

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Those of us who get sneezy and itchy-eyed every spring or fall may have pollen grains, like those shown here, to blame. Edna, Gil, and Amit Cukierman, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa. View Media

Bacterial spore

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A spore from the bacterium Bacillus subtilis shows four outer layers that protect the cell from harsh environmental conditions. Patrick Eichenberger, New York University View Media

Cell proliferation in a quail embryo

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Image showing that the edge zone (top of image) of the quail embryo shows no proliferating cells (cyan), unlike the interior zone (bottom of image). Non-proliferating cell nuclei are labeled green. Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech View Media

Snowflake yeast 1

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Multicellular yeast called snowflake yeast that researchers created through many generations of directed evolution from unicellular yeast. William Ratcliff, Georgia Institute of Technology. View Media

Fruit fly ovary

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A fruit fly ovary, shown here, contains as many as 20 eggs. Fruit flies are not merely tiny insects that buzz around overripe fruit—they are a venerable scientific tool. Denise Montell, Johns Hopkins University and University of California, Santa Barbara View Media

Cell toxins

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A number of environmental factors cause DNA mutations that can lead to cancer: toxins in cigarette smoke, sunlight and other radiation, and some viruses. Judith Stoffer View Media

3D reconstruction of a tubular matrix in peripheral endoplasmic reticulum

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Detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of a tubular matrix in a thin section of the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum between the plasma membranes of the cell. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, Virginia View Media

Bacteriophage P22 capsid

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Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has the power to capture details of proteins and other small biological structures at the molecular level. This image shows proteins in the capsid, or outer co Dr. Wah Chiu, Baylor College of Medicine View Media

Staphylococcus aureus aggregating upon contact with synovial fluid

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Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (green) grouping together upon contact with synovial fluid—a viscous substance found in joints. Paul Stoodley, The Ohio State University. View Media

STORM image of axonal cytoskeleton

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

Young squids

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Real-time movie of young squids. Michael Shribak, Marine Biological Laboratory/University of Chicago. View Media

Epigenetic code (with labels)

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The "epigenetic code" controls gene activity with chemical tags that mark DNA (purple diamonds) and the "tails" of histone proteins (purple triangles). Crabtree + Company View Media

Cluster analysis of mysterious protein

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Researchers use cluster analysis to study protein shape and function. Each green circle represents one potential shape of the protein mitoNEET. Patricia Jennings and Elizabeth Baxter, University of California, San Diego View Media

Hippocampal neuron from rodent brain

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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

Nucleotides make up DNA

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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

Migrating pigment cells

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Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington 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

Sea urchin embryo 06

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Stereo triplet of a sea urchin embryo stained to reveal actin filaments (orange) and microtubules (blue). George von Dassow, University of Washington View Media

Misfolded proteins in mitochondria, 3-D video

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Three-dimensional image of misfolded proteins (green) within mitochondria (red). Related to image 5878. Rong Li, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University View Media

Calling Cards in a mouse brain

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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. Allen Yen, Lab of Joseph Dougherty, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. View Media

Brains of sleep-deprived and well-rested fruit flies

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On top, the brain of a sleep-deprived fly glows orange because of Bruchpilot, a communication protein between brain cells. These bright orange brain areas are associated with learning. Chiara Cirelli, University of Wisconsin-Madison View Media

Thermotoga maritima and its metabolic network

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A combination of protein structures determined experimentally and computationally shows us the complete metabolic network of a heat-loving bacterium. View Media

Electrode probe on mouse Huntington's muscle cell

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Using an electrode, researchers apply an electrical pulse onto a piece of muscle tissue affected by Huntington's disease. Grigor Varuzhanyan and Andrew A. Voss, California State Polytechnic University 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

Morphine Structure

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The chemical structure of the morphine molecule Judy Coyle, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center View Media

Immune cell attacks cell infected with a retrovirus

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T cells engulf and digest cells displaying markers (or antigens) for retroviruses, such as HIV. Kristy Whitehouse, science illustrator View Media

Mouse embryo showing Smad4 protein

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This eerily glowing blob isn't an alien or a creature from the deep sea--it's a mouse embryo just eight and a half days old. The green shell and core show a protein called Smad4. Kenneth Zaret, Fox Chase Cancer Center 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

Wound healing in process

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Wound healing requires the action of stem cells. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media

Arabidopsis leaf injected with a pathogen

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This is a magnified view of an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf eight days after being infected with the pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, which is closely related to crop pathogens that Jeff Dangl, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill View Media

HeLa cells

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Scanning electron micrograph of just-divided HeLa cells. Zeiss Merlin HR-SEM. National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research View Media

Hydra 05

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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

How cilia do the wave

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Thin, hair-like biological structures called cilia are tiny but mighty. Zvonimir Dogic, Brandeis University View Media

Finding one bug

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A nanometer-sized biosensor can detect a single deadly bacterium in tainted ground beef. How? Weihong Tan, University of Florida in Gainesville View Media

Bond types

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Ionic and covalent bonds hold molecules, like sodium chloride and chlorine gas, together. Hydrogen bonds among molecules, notably involving water, also play an important role in biology. Crabtree + Company 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

Aldolase

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2.5Å resolution reconstruction of rabbit muscle aldolase collected on a FEI/Thermo Fisher Titan Krios with energy filter and image corrector. National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy http://nramm.nysbc.org/nramm-images/ Source: Bridget Carragher View Media

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