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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.
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
Single-cell “radios” video
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Individual cells are color-coded based on their identity and signaling activity using a protein circuit technology developed by the Coyle Lab. Scott Coyle, University of Wisconsin-Madison. View Media
Anti-tumor drug ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743) with hydrogens 03
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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
Bacteriophage P22 capsid, detail
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Detail of a subunit of the capsid, or outer cover, of bacteriophage P22, a virus that infects the Salmonella bacteria. Dr. Wah Chiu, Baylor College of Medicine View Media
The nascent juvenile light organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid
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A light organ (~0.5 mm across) of a Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, with different tissues are stained various colors. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Carnegie Institution for Science/California Institute of Technology, and Edward G. Ruby, California Institute of Technology. View Media
Mitosis - metaphase
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A cell in metaphase during mitosis: The copied chromosomes align in the middle of the spindle. Judith Stoffer View Media
Cryo-ET cell cross-section visualizing insulin vesicles
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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 color-coded, 3D version of the image highlighting cell structures. Xianjun Zhang, University of Southern California. 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
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
A drug's life in the body
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A drug's life in the body. Medicines taken by mouth pass through the liver before they are absorbed into the bloodstream. Crabtree + Company View Media
Fruit fly embryo
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Cells in an early-stage fruit fly embryo, showing the DIAP1 protein (pink), an inhibitor of apoptosis. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University 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
Cryo-electron microscopy revealing the "wasabi receptor"
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The TRPA1 protein is responsible for the burn you feel when you taste a bite of sushi topped with wasabi. Jean-Paul Armache, UCSF View Media
Endothelial cell
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This image shows two components of the cytoskeleton, microtubules (green) and actin filaments (red), in an endothelial cell derived from a cow lung. Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa View Media
An insect tracheal cell delivers air to muscles
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Insects like the fruit fly use an elaborate network of branching tubes called trachea (green) to transport oxygen throughout their bodies. Jayan Nair and Maria Leptin, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany View Media
Bacterial cells aggregating above the light organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid
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A light organ (~0.5 mm across) of a juvenile Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Carnegie Institution for Science/California Institute of Technology, and Edward G. Ruby, California Institute of Technology. View Media
Fruit fly in the pink
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Fruit flies are a common model organism for basic medical research. Crabtree + Company View Media
Neuron with labeled synapses
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In this image, recombinant probes known as FingRs (Fibronectin Intrabodies Generated by mRNA display) were expressed in a cortical neuron, where they attached fluorescent proteins to either PSD95 (gre Don Arnold and Richard Roberts, University of Southern California. 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
Pigment cells in fish skin
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Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. David Parichy, University of Washington View Media
Cell-like compartments emerging from scrambled frog eggs 3
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Cell-like compartments spontaneously emerge from scrambled frog eggs. Endoplasmic reticulum (red) and microtubules (green) are visible. Video created using epifluorescence microscopy. Xianrui Cheng, Stanford University School of Medicine. View Media
X-ray diffraction pattern from a crystallized cefotaxime-CCD-1 complex
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CCD-1 is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile that helps it resist antibiotics. Keith Hodgson, Stanford University. View Media
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
Honeybees marked with paint
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Researchers doing behavioral experiments with honeybees sometimes use paint or enamel to give individual bees distinguishing marks. Gene Robinson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. View Media
Seeing signaling protein activation in cells 04
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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
O2 reacting with a flavin-dependent enzyme
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Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan 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
Proteasome
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This fruit fly spermatid recycles various molecules, including malformed or damaged proteins. Sigi Benjamin-Hong, Rockefeller University View Media
Hen egg lysozyme (2)
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A crystal of hen egg lysozyme protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media
Tetrapolar mitosis
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This image shows an abnormal, tetrapolar mitosis. Chromosomes are highlighted pink. The cells shown are S3 tissue cultured cells from Xenopus laevis, African clawed frog. Gary Gorbsky, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation 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
Petri dish
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The white circle in this image is a Petri dish, named for its inventor, Julius Richard Petri. H. Robert Horvitz and Dipon Ghosh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. View Media
Brain cells in the hippocampus
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Hippocampal cells in culture with a neuron in green, showing hundreds of the small protrusions known as dendritic spines. Shelley Halpain, UC San Diego View Media
CRISPR illustration
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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 cycle
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Cells progress through a cycle that consists of phases for growth (blue, green, yellow) and division (red). Cells become quiescent when they exit this cycle (purple). Crabtree + Company View Media
Jack bean concanavalin A
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Crystals of jack bean concanavalin A protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine View Media
CCP enzyme
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The enzyme CCP is found in the mitochondria of baker’s yeast. Scientists study the chemical reactions that CCP triggers, which involve a water molecule, iron, and oxygen. Protein Data Bank. View Media
Vimentin in a quail embryo
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Video of high-resolution confocal images depicting vimentin immunofluorescence (green) and nuclei (blue) at the edge of a quail embryo yolk. Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech View Media
A molecular switch strips transcription factor from DNA
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In this video, Rice University scientists used molecular modeling with a mathematical algorithm called AWSEM (for associative memory, water-mediated, structure and energy model) and structural data to Davit Potoyan and Peter Wolynes View Media
Mouse liver labeled with fluorescent probe
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A mouse liver glows after being tagged with specially designed infrared-fluorescent protein (IFP). Xiaokun Shu, University of California, San Diego View Media
Mouse brain 2
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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
Fruit fly retina 01
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Image showing rhabdomeres (red), the light-sensitive structures in the fruit fly retina, and rhodopsin-4 (blue), a light-sensing molecule. Hermann Steller, Rockefeller University View Media
Abnormal, spiky fibroblast
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This is a fibroblast, a connective tissue cell that plays an important role in wound healing. Normal fibroblasts have smooth edges. Praveen Suraneni, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Mo. View Media
Influenza virus attaches to host membrane
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Influenza A infects a host cell when hemagglutinin grips onto glycans on its surface. Crabtree + Company View Media
Protein formation
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Proteins are 3D structures made up of smaller units. DNA is transcribed to RNA, which in turn is translated into amino acids. NIGMS, with the folded protein illustration adapted from Jane Richardson, Duke University Medical Center View Media
Folding@Home
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Stanford University scientist Vijay Pande decided to couple the power of computers with the help of the public. Judith Stoffer View Media
Multicolor STORM
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In 2006, scientists developed an optical microscopy technique enabling them to clearly see individual molecules within cells. In 2007, they took the technique, abbreviated STORM, a step further. Xiaowei Zhuang, Harvard University View Media
Space-filling model of a cefotaxime-CCD-1 complex
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CCD-1 is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile that helps it resist antibiotics. Keith Hodgson, Stanford University. View Media
Worms and human infertility
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This montage of tiny, transparent C. elegans--or roundworms--may offer insight into understanding human infertility. Abby Dernburg, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory View Media
Lorsch Swearing In
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Jon Lorsch at his swearing in as NIGMS director in August 2013. Also shown are Francis Collins, NIH Director, and Judith Greenberg, former NIGMS Acting Director. View Media
