Pigment cells are cells that give skin its color. In fishes and amphibians, like frogs and salamanders, pigment cells are responsible for the characteristic skin patterns that help these organisms to blend into their surroundings or attract mates. The pigment cells are derived from neural crest cells, which are cells originating from the neural tube in the early embryo. Investigating pigment cell formation and migration in animals helps answer important fundamental questions about the factors that control pigmentation in the skin of animals, including humans. This image shows a pigment cell from zebrafish at high resolution. Related to images 5755, 5756, 5757 and 5758.

It has been said that gastrulation is the most important event in a person's life. This part of early embryonic development transforms a simple ball of cells and begins to define cell fate and the body axis. In a study published in Science magazine in March 2012, NIGMS grantee Bob Goldstein and his research group studied how contractions of actomyosin filaments in C. elegans and Drosophila embryos lead to dramatic rearrangements of cell and embryonic structure. This research is described in detail in the following article: "Triggering a Cell Shape Change by Exploiting Preexisting Actomyosin Contractions." In these images, myosin (green) and plasma membrane (red) are highlighted at four timepoints in gastrulation in the roundworm C. elegans. The blue highlights in the top three frames show how cells are internalized, and the site of closure around the involuting cells is marked with an arrow in the last frame. See related video 3334.

Peripheral nerve cells made from human embryonic stem cell-derived neural crest stem cells. The nuclei are shown in blue, and nerve cell proteins peripherin and beta-tubulin (Tuj1) are shown in green and red, respectively. Related to image 3264. Image is featured in October 2015 Biomedical Beat blog post Cool Images: A Halloween-Inspired Cell Collection.

A crystal of RNase A protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures.

Researchers use cluster analysis to study protein shape and function. Each green circle represents one potential shape of the protein mitoNEET. The longer the blue line between two circles, the greater the differences between the shapes. Most shapes are similar; they fall into three clusters that are represented by the three images of the protein. From a Rice University news release. Graduate student Elizabeth Baxter and Patricia Jennings, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSD, collaborated with José Onuchic, a physicist at Rice University, on this work.

Each morning, the nocturnal Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, hides from predators by digging into the sand. At dusk, it leaves the sand again to hunt.

Related to image 7010 and 7011.

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. Here, recently produced glycans (red) are on the cell surface while those made earlier in development (green) have migrated into the cells. In some areas, old and new glycans mingle (yellow). A better understanding of such traffic patterns could shed light on how organisms develop and may uncover markers for disease, such as cancer. Featured in the May 21, 2008 of Biomedical Beat.

This image is featured on the poster for Dr. Rommie Amaro's 2017 Stetten Lecture. It depicts a detailed physical model of an influenza virus, incorporating information from several structural data sources. The small molecules around the virus are sialic acid molecules. The virus binds to and cleaves sialic acid as it enters and exits host cells. Researchers are building these highly detailed molecular scale models of different biomedical systems and then “bringing them to life” with physics-based methods, either molecular or Brownian dynamics simulations, to understand the structural dynamics of the systems and their complex interactions with drug or substrate molecules.

Haplotypes are combinations of gene variants that are likely to be inherited together within the same chromosomal region. In this example, an original haplotype (top) evolved over time to create three newer haplotypes that each differ by a few nucleotides (red). See image 2566 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Featured in The New Genetics.

The green in this image highlights a protein called TonB, which is produced by many gram-negative bacteria, including those that cause typhoid fever, meningitis and dysentery. TonB lets bacteria take up iron from the host's body, which they need to survive. More information about the research behind this image can be found in a Biomedical Beat Blog posting from August 2013.

Structure of the bacterial antitoxin protein GhoS. GhoS inhibits the production of a bacterial toxin, GhoT, which can contribute to antibiotic resistance. GhoS is the first known bacterial antitoxin that works by cleaving the messenger RNA that carries the instructions for making the toxin. More information can be found in the paper: Wang X, Lord DM, Cheng HY, Osbourne DO, Hong SH, Sanchez-Torres V, Quiroga C, Zheng K, Herrmann T, Peti W, Benedik MJ, Page R, Wood TK. A new type V toxin-antitoxin system where mRNA for toxin GhoT is cleaved by antitoxin GhoS. Nat Chem Biol. 2012 Oct;8(10):855-61. Related to 3428.

Reactivating telomerase in our cells does not appear to be a good way to extend the human lifespan. Cancer cells reactivate telomerase.

Nodes of Ranvier are short gaps in the myelin sheath surrounding myelinated nerve cells (axons). Myelin insulates axons, and the node of Ranvier is where the axon is exposed to the extracellular environment, allowing for the transmission of action potentials at these nodes via ion flows between the inside and outside of the axon. The image shows a cross-section through the node, with the surrounding extracellular matrix encasing and supporting the axon shown in cyan.

The small intestine is where most of our nutrients from the food we eat are absorbed into the bloodstream. The walls of the intestine contain small finger-like projections called villi which increase the organ's surface area, enhancing nutrient absorption. It consists of the duodenum, which connects to the stomach, the jejenum and the ileum, which connects with the large intestine. Related to image 3389.

NIGMS staff are located in the Natcher Building on the NIH campus.

A crane fly spermatocyte during metaphase of meiosis-I, a step in the production of sperm. A meiotic spindle pulls apart three pairs of autosomal chromosomes, along with a sex chromosome on the right. Tubular mitochondria surround the spindle and chromosomes. This video was captured with quantitative orientation-independent differential interference contrast and is a time lapse showing a 1-second image taken every 30 seconds over the course of 30 minutes.

More information about the research that produced this video can be found in the J. Biomed Opt. paper “Orientation-Independent Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy and Its Combination with Orientation-Independent Polarization System” by Shribak et. al.

Confocal image showing high levels of the protein vimentin (white) at the edge zone of a quail embryo. Cell nuclei are labeled green. More specifically, this high-magnification (60X) image shows vimentin immunofluorescence in the edge zone (top of image) and inner zone (bottom of image) of a Stage 4 quail blastoderm. Vimentin expression (white) is shown merged with Sytox nuclear labeling (green) at the edge of the blastoderm. A thick vimentin filament runs circumferentially (parallel to the direction of the edge) that appears to delineate the transition between the edge zone and interior zone. Also shown are dense vimentin clusters or foci, which typically appear to be closely associated with edge cell nuclei. An NIGMS grant to Professor Garcia was used to purchase the confocal microscope that collected this image. Related to image 2808 and video 2809.

Luciferase-based imaging enables visualization and quantification of internal organs and transplanted cells in live adult zebrafish. In this image, a cardiac muscle-restricted promoter drives firefly luciferase expression.
For imagery of both the lateral and overhead view go to 3556.
For imagery of the lateral view go to 3558.
For more information about the illumated area go to 3559.

Cells use bubble-like structures called vesicles (yellow) to import, transport, and export cargo and in cellular communication. A single cell may be filled with thousands of moving vesicles.

This image was part of the Life: Magnified exhibit that ran from June 3, 2014, to January 21, 2015, at Dulles International Airport.

DNA encodes RNA, which encodes protein. DNA is transcribed to make messenger RNA (mRNA). The mRNA sequence (dark red strand) is complementary to the DNA sequence (blue strand). On ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA) reads three nucleotides at a time in mRNA to bring together the amino acids that link up to make a protein. See image 2549 for a numbered version of this illustration and 2547 for an unlabeled version. Featured in The New Genetics.

Cells walk along body surfaces via tiny "feet," called focal adhesions, that connect with the extracellular matrix. See image 2502 for an unlabeled version of this illustration.

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 small inoculum in the center of a Petri dish.

See 6557 for a photo of this process at 24 hours on 0.75% agar surface.
See 6555 for another photo of this process at 48 hours on 1% agar surface.
See 6556 for a photo of this process at 72 hours on 0.5% agar surface.
See 6550 for a video of this process.

This is a super-resolution light microscope image taken by Hiro Hakozaki and Masa Hoshijima of NCMIR. The image contains highlighted calcium channels in cardiac muscle using a technique called dSTORM. The microscope used in the NCMIR lab was built by Hiro Hakozaki.

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. It was synthesized by NIGMS grantees E.J. Corey and later by Samuel Danishefsky. Multiple versions of this structure are available as entries 2790-2797.

Yeast cells with nuclei shown in green and contractile rings shown in magenta. Nuclei store DNA, and contractile rings help cells divide. This image was captured using wide-field microscopy with deconvolution.

Related to images 6791, 6793, 6794, 6797, 6798, and videos 6795 and 6796.

A study published in March 2012 used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of the DNA replication origin recognition complex (ORC), a semi-circular, protein complex (yellow) that recognizes and binds DNA to start the replication process. The ORC appears to wrap around and bend approximately 70 base pairs of double stranded DNA (red and blue). Also shown is the protein Cdc6 (green), which is also involved in the initiation of DNA replication. The video shows the structure from different angles. See related image 3597.

Real-time movie of young squids. Squids are often used as research organisms due to having the largest nervous system of any invertebrate, complex behaviors like instantaneous camouflage, and other unique traits.

This video was taken with polychromatic polarization microscope, as described in the Scientific Reports paper “Polychromatic Polarization Microscope: Bringing Colors to a Colorless World” by Shribak. The color is generated by interaction of white polarized light with the squid’s transparent soft tissue. The tissue works as a living tunable spectral filter, and the transmission band depends on the molecular orientation. When the young squid is moving, the tissue orientation changes, and its color shifts accordingly.

This simulation of myosin V binding to actin was created using the software tool Protein Mechanica. With Protein Mechanica, researchers can construct models using information from a variety of sources: crystallography, cryo-EM, secondary structure descriptions, as well as user-defined solid shapes, such as spheres and cylinders. The goal is to enable experimentalists to quickly and easily simulate how different parts of a molecule interact.

The interior of a regenerating lizard tail 14 days after the original tail was amputated. Cell nuclei (blue), proliferating cells (green), cartilage (red), and muscle (white) have been visualized with immunofluorescence staining.

Los ritmos circadianos son cambios físicos, mentales y de comportamiento que siguen un ciclo de 24 horas. Los ritmos circadianos se ven influenciados por la luz y están regulados por el núcleo supraquiasmático del cerebro, a veces denominado el reloj principal.

Vea 6613 para la versión en inglés de esta infografía.

The chemical structure of the morphine molecule

Yeast cells that abnormally accumulate cell wall material (blue) at their ends and, when preparing to divide, in their middles. This image was captured using wide-field microscopy with deconvolution.

Related to images 6791, 6792, 6793, 6794, 6798, and videos 6795 and 6796.

In this image, viewed with a ZEISS ORION NanoFab microscope, the community of cells lining a mouse airway is magnified more than 10,000 times. This collection of cells, known as the mucociliary escalator, is also found in humans. It is our first line of defense against inhaled bacteria, allergens, pollutants, and debris. Malfunctions in the system can cause or aggravate lung infections and conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The cells shown in gray secrete mucus, which traps inhaled particles. The colored cells sweep the mucus layer out of the lungs.

This image was part of the Life: Magnified exhibit that ran from June 3, 2014, to January 21, 2015, at Dulles International Airport.

About half of all human proteins include chains of sugar molecules that are critical for the proteins to function properly. Appears in the NIGMS booklet Inside the Cell.

A color-coded, 3D model of a rat pancreatic β cell. This type of cell produces insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. Visible are mitochondria (pink), insulin vesicles (yellow), the nucleus (dark blue), and the plasma membrane (teal). This model was created based on soft X-ray tomography (SXT) images.

Image of the colon of a mouse mono-colonized with Bacteroides fragilis (red) residing within the crypt channel. The red staining is due to an antibody to B. fragilis, the green staining is a general dye for the mouse cells (phalloidin, which stains F-actin) and the light blue glow is from a dye for visualizing the mouse cell nuclei (DAPI, which stains DNA). Bacteria from the human microbiome have evolved specific molecules to physically associate with host tissue, conferring resilience and stability during life-long colonization of the gut. Image is featured in October 2015 Biomedical Beat blog post Cool Images: A Halloween-Inspired Cell Collection.

Hydra magnipapillata is an invertebrate animal used as a model organism to study developmental questions, for example the formation of the body axis.

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. The lily is considered a good organism for studying cell division because its chromosomes are much thicker and easier to see than human ones. Staining shows microtubules in red and chromosomes in blue.

Related to images 1010, 1011, 1013, 1014, 1015, 1016, 1017, 1018, 1019, and 1021.

Cells move forward with lamellipodia and filopodia supported by networks and bundles of actin filaments. Proper, controlled cell movement is a complex process. Recent research has shown that an actin-polymerizing factor called the Arp2/3 complex is the key component of the actin polymerization engine that drives amoeboid cell motility. ARPC3, a component of the Arp2/3 complex, plays a critical role in actin nucleation. In this photo, the ARPC3-/- fibroblast cells were fixed and stained with Alexa 546 phalloidin for F-actin (red) and DAPI to visualize the nucleus (blue). In the absence of functional Arp2/3 complex, ARPC3-/- fibroblast cells' leading edge morphology is significantly altered with filopodia-like structures. Related to images 3328, 3329, 3330, 3331, and 3332.

Neuron from a crab showing the cell body (bottom), axon (rope-like extension), and growth cone (top right).

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. It was synthesized by NIGMS grantees E.J. Corey and later by Samuel Danishefsky. Multiple versions of this structure are available as entries 2790-2797.

Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) cells being killed by a fluorescent trans-translation inhibitor, which disrupts bacterial protein synthesis. The inhibitor is naturally fluorescent and looks blue when it is excited by ultraviolet light in the microscope. This is a color version of Image 3481.

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. Recent studies have suggested Chang Shan can also reduce scar formation, treat multiple sclerosis and even slow cancer progression.

The atomic structure of the morphine biosynthetic enzyme salutaridine reductase bound to the cofactor NADPH. The substrate salutaridine is shown entering the active site.

A mouse brain that was genetically modified so that subpopulations of its neurons glow. Researchers often study mice because they share many genes with people and can shed light on biological processes, development, and diseases in humans.

This image was captured using a light sheet microscope.

Related to image 6929 and video 6931.

A crystal of porcine trypsin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures.

A computer model shows how the endoplasmic reticulum is close to and almost wraps around mitochondria in the cell. The endoplasmic reticulum is lime green and the mitochondria are yellow. This image relates to a July 27, 2009 article in Computing Life.

X-ray co-crystal structure of Src kinase bound to a DNA-templated macrocycle inhibitor. Related to 3414, 3415, 3416, 3417, 3418, and 3419.

Meiosis is used to make sperm and egg cells. During meiosis, a cell's chromosomes are copied once, but the cell divides twice. During mitosis, the chromosomes are copied once, and the cell divides once. For simplicity, cells are illustrated with only three pairs of chromosomes. See image 6788 for a labeled version of this illustration.

Three-dimensional image of misfolded proteins (green) within mitochondria (red). Related to image 5878. Learn more in this press release by The American Association for the Advancement of Science.