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Chang Shan
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For thousands of years, Chinese herbalists have treated malaria using Chang Shan, a root extract from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. Paul Schimmel Lab, Scripps Research Institute View Media
C. elegans with blue and yellow lights in the background
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These microscopic roundworms, called Caenorhabditis elegans, lack eyes and the opsin proteins used by visual systems to detect colors. H. Robert Horvitz and Dipon Ghosh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. View Media
Plasma membrane (with labels)
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The plasma membrane is a cell's protective barrier. See image 2523 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health. Crabtree + Company View Media
Protein rv2844 from M. tuberculosis
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This crystal structure shows a conserved hypothetical protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Only 12 other proteins share its sequence homology, and none has a known function. Integrated Center for Structure and Function Innovation View Media
Z rings in bacterial division
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Lab-made liposomes contract where Z rings have gathered together and the constriction forces are greatest (arrows). Masaki Osawa, Duke University View Media
Rhodopsin bound to visual arrestin
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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
Natcher Building 01
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NIGMS staff are located in the Natcher Building on the NIH campus. Alisa Machalek, National Institute of General Medical Sciences View Media
Transmission electron microscopy showing cross-section of the node of Ranvier
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Nodes of Ranvier are short gaps in the myelin sheath surrounding myelinated nerve cells (axons). Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
X-ray crystallography
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X-ray crystallography allows researchers to see structures too small to be seen by even the most powerful microscopes. Crabtree + Company View Media
Protein folding video
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Proteins are long chains of amino acids. Each protein has a unique amino acid sequence. It is still a mystery how a protein folds into the proper shape based on its sequence. Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group View Media
Snowflake yeast 2
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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
Lily mitosis 04
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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
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
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
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Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, has infected one-quarter of the world's population and causes more than one million deaths each year, according to the Reuben Peters, Iowa State University View Media
Microsporidia in roundworm 2
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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
Annotated TEM cross-section of C. elegans (roundworm)
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The worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a popular laboratory animal because its small size and fairly simple body make it easy to study. Piali Sengupta, Brandeis University View Media
Fruit fly egg chamber
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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
RNA polymerase
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RNA polymerase (purple) is a complex enzyme at the heart of transcription. Amy Wu and Christine Zardecki, RCSB Protein Data Bank. View Media
VDAC-1 (1)
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The structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. Gerhard Wagner, Harvard Medical School View Media
Growing hair follicle stem cells
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Wound healing requires the action of stem cells. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media
CRISPR Illustration Frame 4
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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
NCMIR mouse tail
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Stained cross section of a mouse tail. Tom Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Math from the heart
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Watch a cell ripple toward a beam of light that turns on a movement-related protein. View Media
Genetically identical mycobacteria respond differently to antibiotic 2
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Antibiotic resistance in microbes is a serious health concern. So researchers have turned their attention to how bacteria undo the action of some antibiotics. Bree Aldridge, Tufts University View Media
Pulsating response to stress in bacteria - video
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By attaching fluorescent proteins to the genetic circuit responsible for B. subtilis's stress response, researchers can observe the cells' pulses as green flashes. Michael Elowitz, Caltech University View Media
Cross section of a Drosophila melanogaster pupa lacking Draper
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In the absence of the engulfment receptor Draper, salivary gland cells (light blue) persist in the thorax of a developing Drosophila melanogaster pupa. Christina McPhee and Eric Baehrecke, University of Massachusetts Medical School View Media
Stretch detectors
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Muscles stretch and contract when we walk, and skin splits open and knits back together when we get a paper cut. Christopher Chen, University of Pennsylvania View Media
High-throughput protein structure determination pipeline
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This slide shows the technologies that the Joint Center for Structural Genomics developed for going from gene to structure and how the technologies have been integrated into a high-throughput pipeline Joint Center for Structural Genomics 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
HeLa cells
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Multiphoton fluorescence image of cultured HeLa cells with a fluorescent protein targeted to the Golgi apparatus (orange), microtubules (green) and counterstained for DNA (cyan). National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) View Media
Trajectories of labeled cell receptors
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Trajectories of single molecule labeled cell surface receptors. This is an example of NIH-supported research on single-cell analysis. Gaudenz Danuser, Harvard Medical School View Media
Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743), structure without hydrogens 02
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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
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
Recombinant DNA
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To splice a human gene into a plasmid, scientists take the plasmid out of an E. coli bacterium, cut the plasmid with a restriction enzyme, and splice in human DNA. Crabtree + Company 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
Fruit fly larvae brains showing tubulin
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Two fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larvae brains with neurons expressing fluorescently tagged tubulin protein. Vladimir I. Gelfand, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. View Media
Lily mitosis 10
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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
RSV-Infected Cell
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Viral RNA (red) in an RSV-infected cell. Eric Alonas and Philip Santangelo, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University View Media
Vibrio bacteria
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Vibrio, a type (genus) of rod-shaped bacteria. Some Vibrio species cause cholera in humans. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa 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
Nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase
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Model of the enzyme nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase. Berkeley Structural Genomics Center, PSI 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
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
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
Neural development
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Using techniques that took 4 years to design, a team of developmental biologists showed that certain proteins can direct the subdivision of fruit fly and chicken nervous system tissue into the regions Mieko Mizutani and Ethan Bier, University of California, San Diego, and Henk Roelink, University of Washington View Media
Hsp33 figure 2
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Featured in the March 15, 2012 issue of Biomedical Beat. Related to Hsp33 Figure 1, image 3354. Ursula Jakob and Dana Reichmann, University of Michigan View Media
Fruit fly nurse cells transporting their contents during egg development
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In many animals, the egg cell develops alongside sister cells. Adam C. Martin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. View Media
Mouse heart muscle cells
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This image shows neonatal mouse heart cells. These cells were grown in the lab on a chip that aligns the cells in a way that mimics what is normally seen in the body. Kara McCloskey lab, University of California, Merced, via CIRM View Media
Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of sleeping sickness
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Trypanosoma brucei is a single-cell parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. Michael Rout, Rockefeller University View Media
