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

CCD-1 is an enzyme produced by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile that helps it resist antibiotics. Researchers crystallized complexes where a CCD-1 molecule and a molecule of the antibiotic cefotaxime were bound together. Then, they shot X-rays at the complexes to determine their structure—a process known as X-ray crystallography. This image shows the X-ray diffraction pattern of a complex.

Related to images 6764, 6766, and 6767.

A cropped image of a white poppy. View poppy uncropped here 3424.

New research shows telomeres moving to the outer edge of the nucleus after cell division, suggesting these caps that protect chromosomes also may play a role in organizing DNA.

Composite image of beta-galactosidase showing how cryo-EM’s resolution has improved dramatically in recent years. Older images to the left, more recent to the right. Related to image 5883. NIH Director Francis Collins featured this on his blog on January 14, 2016.

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.

This video shows the structure of the pore-forming protein VDAC-1 from humans. This molecule mediates the flow of products needed for metabolism--in particular the export of ATP--across the outer membrane of mitochondria, the power plants for eukaryotic cells. VDAC-1 is involved in metabolism and the self-destruction of cells--two biological processes central to health.

Related to videos 2570 and 2572.

Two fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) egg cells, one on each side of the central black line. The colorful swirls show the circular movement of cytoplasm—called ooplasmic streaming—that occurs in late egg cell development in wild-type (right) and mutant (left) oocytes. This image was captured using confocal microscopy.

More information on the research that produced this image can be found in the Journal of Cell Biology paper “Ooplasmic flow cooperates with transport and anchorage in Drosophila oocyte posterior determination” by Lu et al.

A 3D reconstruction of a transient receptor potential channel called TRPV5 that was created based on cryo-electron microscopy images. TRPV5 is primarily found in kidney cells and is essential for reabsorbing calcium into the blood.

A humorous treatment of the concept of a cycling cell.

A whole yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cell viewed by X-ray microscopy. Inside, the nucleus and a large vacuole (red) are visible.

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 2548 for a labeled version of this illustration and 2549 for a labeled and numbered version. Featured in The New Genetics.

Multicellular yeast called snowflake yeast that researchers created through many generations of directed evolution from unicellular yeast. Stained cell membranes (green) and cell walls (red) reveal the connections between cells. Younger cells take up more cell membrane stain, while older cells take up more cell wall stain, leading to the color differences seen here. This image was captured using spinning disk confocal microscopy.

Related to images 6970 and 6971.

In plants, as in animals, stem cells can transform into a variety of different cell types. The stem cells at the growing tip of this Arabidopsis plant will soon become flowers. Arabidopsis is frequently studied by cellular and molecular biologists because it grows rapidly (its entire life cycle is only 6 weeks), produces lots of seeds, and has a genome that is easy to manipulate.

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

Network diagram showing a map of protein-protein interactions in a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cell. This cluster includes 78 percent of the proteins in the yeast proteome. The color of a node represents the phenotypic effect of removing the corresponding protein (red, lethal; green, nonlethal; orange, slow growth; yellow, unknown).

Microtubules (magenta) and tau protein (light blue) in a cell model of tauopathy. Researchers believe that tauopathy—the aggregation of tau protein—plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. This image was captured using Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM).

Related to images 6889, 6890, and 6891.

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. This is the lateral and overhead (Bottom) view.
For imagery of the overhead view go to 3557.
For imagery of the lateral view go to 3558.
For more information about the illumated area go to 3559.

Cdc42, a member of the Rho family of small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) proteins, regulates multiple cell functions, including motility, proliferation, apoptosis, and cell morphology. In order to fulfill these diverse roles, the timing and location of Cdc42 activation must be tightly controlled. Klaus Hahn and his research group use special dyes designed to report protein conformational changes and interactions, here in living neutrophil cells. Warmer colors in this image indicate higher levels of activation. Cdc42 looks to be activated at cell protrusions.

Related to images 2451, 2452, and 2454.

A crystal of bovine milk alpha-lactalbumin protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures.

In vivo vascular development in kdr:GFP frogs. Related to images 3403 and 3405.

This skyline of New York City was created by “printing” nanodroplets containing yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) onto a large plate. Each dot is a separate yeast colony. As the colonies grew, a picture emerged, creating art. To make the different colors shown here, yeast strains were genetically engineered to produce pigments naturally made by bacteria, fungi, and sea creatures such as coral and sea anemones. Using genes from other organisms to make biological compounds paves the way toward harnessing yeast in the production of other useful molecules, from food to fuels and drugs.

Disassembly of vasculature and reassembly after addition and then washout of 250 µM TBZ in kdr:GFP frogs. Related to images 3403 and 3404.

Undifferentiated embryonic stem cells cease to exist a few days after conception. In this image, ES cells are shown to differentiate into sperm, muscle fiber, hair cells, nerve cells, and cone cells.

Fourteen neurons (magenta) in the adult Drosophila brain produce insulin, and fat tissue sends packets of lipids to the brain via the lipoprotein carriers (green). This image was captured using a confocal microscope and shows a maximum intensity projection of many slices.

Related to images 6983, 6984, and 6985.

This ribbon drawing of a protein hand drawn and colored by researcher Jane Richardson in 1981 helped originate the ribbon representation of proteins that is now ubiquitous in molecular graphics. The drawing shows the 3-dimensional structure of the protein triose phosphate isomerase. The green arrows represent the barrel of eight beta strands in this structure and the brown spirals show the protein's eight alpha helices. A black and white version of this drawing originally illustrated a review article in Advances in Protein Chemistry, volume 34, titled "Anatomy and Taxonomy of Protein Structures." The illustration was selected as Picture of The Day on the English Wikipedia for November 19, 2009. Other important and beautiful images of protein structures by Jane Richardson are available in her Wikimedia gallery.

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

The nucleus contains the DNA of eukaryotic cells. The double membrane that bounds the nucleus flows into the rough endoplasmic reticulum, an organelle studded with ribosomes that manufacture membrane-bound proteins for the rest of the cell.

Featured in the March 15, 2012 issue of Biomedical Beat. Related to Hsp33 Figure 2, image 3355.

These microscopic roundworms, called Caenorhabditis elegans, lack eyes and the opsin proteins used by visual systems to detect colors. However, researchers found that the worms can still sense the color of light in a way that enables them to avoid pigmented toxins made by bacteria. This image was captured using a stereo microscope.

A protein called tubulin (green) accumulates in the center of a nucleus (outlined in pink) from an aging cell. Normally, this protein is kept out of the nucleus with the help of gatekeepers known as nuclear pore complexes. But NIGMS-funded researchers found that wear and tear to long-lived components of the complexes eventually lowers the gatekeepers' guard. As a result, cytoplasmic proteins like tubulin gain entry to the nucleus while proteins normally confined to the nucleus seep out. The work suggests that finding ways to stop the leakage could slow the cellular aging process and possibly lead to new therapies for age-related diseases.

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 black-and-white version of Image 3525.

Blood clots stop bleeding, but they also can cause heart attacks and strokes. A team led by computational biophysicist Klaus Schulten of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has revealed how a blood protein can give clots their lifesaving and life-threatening abilities. The researchers combined experimental and computational methods to animate fibrinogen, a protein that forms the elastic fibers that enable clots to withstand the force of blood pressure. This simulation shows that the protein, through a series of events, stretches up to three times its length. Adjusting this elasticity could improve how we manage healthful and harmful clots. NIH's National Center for Research Resources also supported this work. Featured in the March 19, 2008, issue of Biomedical Beat.

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.

Detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of a tubular matrix in a thin section of the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum between the plasma membranes of the cell.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a continuous membrane that extends like a net from the envelope of the nucleus outward to the cell membrane. The ER plays several roles within the cell, such as in protein and lipid synthesis and transport of materials between organelles.
Shown here is a three-dimensional representation of the peripheral ER microtubules. Related to images 5855 and 5856

Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete, a class of long, slender bacteria that typically take on a coiled shape. Infection with this bacterium causes Lyme disease.

Model of a member from the Tex protein family, which is implicated in transcriptional regulation and highly conserved in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The structure shows significant homology to a human transcription elongation factor that may regulate multiple steps in mRNA synthesis.

In the determination of protein structures by X-ray crystallography, this unique soft (l = 2.29Å) X-ray source is used to collect anomalous scattering data from protein crystals containing light atoms such as sulfur, calcium, zinc and phosphorous. These data can be used to image the protein.

Analysis of 68 million-year-old collagen molecule fragments preserved in a T. rex femur confirmed what paleontologists have said for decades: Dinosaurs are close relatives of chickens, ostriches, and to a lesser extent, alligators. A Harvard University research team, including NIGMS-supported postdoctoral research fellow Chris Organ, used sophisticated statistical and computational tools to compare the ancient protein to ones from 21 living species. Because evolutionary processes produce similarities across species, the methods and results may help illuminate other areas of the evolutionary tree. Featured in the May 21, 2008 Biomedical Beat.

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 1333 for an unlabeled version of this illustration.

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

The genetic code in DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is translated into proteins with specific sequences. During transcription, nucleotides in DNA are copied into RNA, where they are read three at a time to encode the amino acids in a protein. Many parts of a protein fold as the amino acids are strung together.

See image 2509 for an unlabeled version of this illustration.

Featured in The Structures of Life.

These cells are induced stem cells made from human adult skin cells that were genetically reprogrammed to mimic embryonic stem cells. The induced stem cells were made potentially safer by removing the introduced genes and the viral vector used to ferry genes into the cells, a loop of DNA called a plasmid. The work was accomplished by geneticist Junying Yu in the laboratory of James Thomson, a University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health professor and the director of regenerative biology for the Morgridge Institute for Research.

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 3427.

In the worm C. elegans, double-stranded RNA made in neurons can silence matching genes in a variety of cell types through the transport of RNA between cells. The head region of three worms that were genetically modified to express a fluorescent protein were imaged and the images were color-coded based on depth. The worm on the left lacks neuronal double-stranded RNA and thus every cell is fluorescent. In the middle worm, the expression of the fluorescent protein is silenced by neuronal double-stranded RNA and thus most cells are not fluorescent. The worm on the right lacks an enzyme that amplifies RNA for silencing. Surprisingly, the identities of the cells that depend on this enzyme for gene silencing are unpredictable. As a result, worms of identical genotype are nevertheless random mosaics for how the function of gene silencing is carried out. For more, see journal article and press release. Related to image 6532.

Some children are born with a mutation in a regulatory site on this enzyme that causes them to over-secrete insulin when they consume protein. We found that a compound from green tea (shown in the stick figure and by the yellow spheres on the enzyme) is able to block this hyperactivity when given to animals with this disorder.

Using an electrode, researchers apply an electrical pulse onto a piece of muscle tissue affected by Huntington's disease.

Xenopus laevis, the African clawed frog, has long been used as a model organism for studying embryonic development. In this image, RNA encoding the transcription factor Sox 7 (dark blue) is shown to predominate at the vegetal pole, the yolk-rich portion, of a Xenopus laevis frog egg. Sox 7 protein is important to the regulation of embryonic development.

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.

What looks like a Native American dream catcher is really a network of social interactions within a community. The red dots along the inner and outer circles represent people, while the different colored lines represent direct contact between them. All connections originate from four individuals near the center of the graph. Modeling social networks can help researchers understand how diseases spread.

Image of Streptococcus, a type (genus) of spherical bacteria that can colonize the throat and back of the mouth. Stroptococci often occur in pairs or in chains, as shown here.