Lab-made liposomes contract where Z rings have gathered together and the constriction forces are greatest (arrows). The top picture shows a liposome, and the bottom picture shows fluorescence from Z rings (arrows) inside the same liposome simultaneously.

A colorized scanning electron micrograph of bacteria. Scanning electron microscopes allow scientists to see the three-dimensional surface of their samples.

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

Crystals of hen egg lysozyme protein created for X-ray crystallography, which can reveal detailed, three-dimensional protein structures.

Animation for the vesicular shuttle model of Golgi transport.

The receptor is shown bound to an inverse agonist, ZM241385.

The parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis hatches in water and grows up in a freshwater snail, as shown here. Once mature, the worm swims back into the water, where it can infect people through skin contact. Initially, an infected person might have a rash, itchy skin, or flu-like symptoms, but the real damage is done over time to internal organs.

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

These mitochondria (brown) are from the heart muscle cell of a rat. Mitochondria have an inner membrane that folds in many places (and that appears here as striations). This folding vastly increases the surface area for energy production. Nearly all our cells have mitochondria. Related to image 3661.

To become products, reactants must overcome an energy hill. See image 2526 for a labeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health.

A light microscope image of cells 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. Here, condensed chromosomes are clearly visible and have separated into the opposite sides of a dividing cell.

Related to images 1010, 1012, 1013, 1014, 1015, 1016, 1017, 1018, 1019, and 1021.

Neutrophil-like cells (blue) in a microfluidic chip preferentially migrating toward LTB4 over fMLP. A neutrophil is a type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system and helps the body fight infection. Both LTB4 and fMLP are molecules involved in immune response. Microfluidic chips are small devices containing microscopic channels, and they are used in a range of applications, from basic research on cells to pathogen detection. The scale bar in this video is 500μm.

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 World Health Organization.

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. This image shows pigment cells called xanthophores in the skin of zebrafish; the cells glow (autofluoresce) brightly under light giving the fish skin a shiny, lively appearance. 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. Related to images 5754, 5756, 5757 and 5758.

A shell from the venomous cone snail Conus omaria, which lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans and eats other snails. University of Utah scientists discovered a new toxin in this snail species' venom, and say it will be a useful tool in designing new medicines for a variety of brain disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, depression, nicotine addiction and perhaps schizophrenia.

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. Research on the flies has shed light on many aspects of human biology, including biological rhythms, learning, memory, and neurodegenerative diseases. Another reason fruit flies are so useful in a lab (and so successful in fruit bowls) is that they reproduce rapidly. About three generations can be studied in a single month.

Related to image 3656. This image was part of the Life: Magnified exhibit that ran from June 3, 2014, to January 21, 2015, at Dulles International Airport.

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), Arp2 (green), and DAPI to visualize the nucleus (blue). Arp2, a subunit of the Arp2/3 complex, is localized at the lamellipodia leading edge of ARPC3+/+ fibroblast cells. Related to images 3329, 3330, 3331, 3332, and 3333.

PETase enzyme degrades polyester plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET) into monohydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET). Then, MHETase enzyme degrades MHET into its constituents ethylene glycol (EG) and terephthalic acid (TPA).

Find these in the RCSB Protein Data Bank: PET hydrolase (PDB entry 5XH3) and MHETase (PDB entry 6QGA).

Details about the basic biology and chemistry of the ingredients that produce bioluminescence are allowing scientists to harness it as an imaging tool. Credit: Nathan Shaner, Scintillon Institute.

From Biomedical Beat article July 2017: Chasing Fireflies—and Better Cellular Imaging Techniques

Fluorescent markers show the interconnected web of tubes and compartments in the endoplasmic reticulum. The protein atlastin helps build and maintain this critical part of cells. The image is from a July 2009 news release.

Planarians are freshwater flatworms that have powerful abilities to regenerate their bodies, which would seem to make them natural model organisms in which to study stem cells. But until recently, scientists had not been able to efficiently find the genes that regulate the planarian stem cell system. In this image, a single stem cell has given rise to a colony of stem cells in a planarian. Proliferating cells are red, and differentiating cells are blue. Quantitatively measuring the size and ratios of these two cell types provides a powerful framework for studying the roles of stem cell regulatory genes in planarians.

The photo shows a confocal microscopy image of perineuronal nets (PNNs), which are specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) structures in the brain. The PNN surrounds some nerve cells in brain regions including the cortex, hippocampus and thalamus. Researchers study the PNN to investigate their involvement stabilizing the extracellular environment and forming nets around nerve cells and synapses in the brain. Abnormalities in the PNNs have been linked to a variety of disorders, including epilepsy and schizophrenia, and they limit a process called neural plasticity in which new nerve connections are formed. To visualize the PNNs, researchers labeled them with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA)-fluorescein. Related to image 3741.

The image visualizes a part of the yeast molecular interaction network. The lines in the network represent connections among genes (shown as little dots) and different-colored networks indicate subnetworks, for instance, those in specific locations or pathways in the cell. Researchers use gene or protein expression data to build these networks; the network shown here was visualized with a program called Cytoscape. By following changes in the architectures of these networks in response to altered environmental conditions, scientists can home in on those genes that become central "hubs" (highly connected genes), for example, when a cell encounters stress. They can then further investigate the precise role of these genes to uncover how a cell's molecular machinery deals with stress or other factors. Related to images 3730 and 3732.

Model of an enzyme, dUTP pyrophosphatase, from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Drugs targeted to this enzyme might inhibit the replication of the bacterium that causes most cases of tuberculosis.

The enzyme Dicer generates microRNAs by chopping larger RNA molecules into tiny Velcro^®-like pieces. MicroRNAs stick to mRNA molecules and prevent the mRNAs from being made into proteins. See image 2557 for a labeled version of this illustration. Featured in The New Genetics.

Dictyostelium discoideum is a microscopic amoeba. A group of 100,000 form a mound as big as a grain of sand. Featured in The New Genetics.

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. In the center, Smad4 is telling certain cells to begin forming the mouse's liver and pancreas. Researchers identified a trio of signaling pathways that help switch on Smad4-making genes, starting immature cells on the path to becoming organs. The research could help biologists learn how to grow human liver and pancreas tissue for research, drug testing and regenerative medicine. In addition to NIGMS, NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases also supported this work.

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

A peripheral nerve cell made from human embryonic stem cell-derived neural crest stem cells. The nucleus is shown in blue, and nerve cell proteins peripherin and beta-tubulin (Tuj1) are shown in green and red, respectively. Related to image 3263.

Multiphoton fluorescence image of HeLa cells stained with the actin binding toxin phalloidin (red), microtubules (cyan) and cell nuclei (blue). Nikon RTS2000MP custom laser scanning microscope. See related images 3518, 3519, 3520, 3522.

This illustration highlights spherical pre-synaptic vesicles that carry the neurotransmitter glutamate. The presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes are shown with proteins relevant for transmitting and modulating the neuronal signal.

PDB 101’s Opioids and Pain Signaling video explains how glutamatergic synapses are involved in the process of pain signaling.

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. See image 2519 for an unlabeled version of this illustration. Featured in The Chemistry of Health.

Insects like the fruit fly use an elaborate network of branching tubes called trachea (green) to transport oxygen throughout their bodies. Fruit flies have been used in biomedical research for more than 100 years and remain one of the most frequently studied model organisms. They have a large percentage of genes in common with us, including hundreds of genes that are associated with human diseases.

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

In this image of a stained fruit fly ovary, the ovary is packed with immature eggs (with DNA stained blue). The cytoskeleton (in pink) is a collection of fibers that gives a cell shape and support. The signal-transmitting molecules like STAT (in yellow) are common to reproductive processes in humans. Researchers used this image to show molecular staining and high-resolution imaging techniques to students.

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.

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.

This Petri dish contains microscopic roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans. Researchers used these particular worms to study how C. elegans senses the color of light in its environment.

This video shows a controlled outbreak of transmissible avian flu among people living in Thailand. Red indicates areas of infection while blue indicates areas where a combination of control measures were implemented. The video shows how control measures contained the infection in 90 days, before it spread elsewhere.

Learn about some of the different jobs in a scientific laboratory and how researchers work as a team to make discoveries. Discover more resources from NIGMS’ Pathways collaboration with Scholastic. View the video on YouTube for closed captioning.

Featured in the March 15, 2012 issue of Biomedical Beat. Related to Hsp33 Figure 1, image 3354.

An adult Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, swimming next to a submerged hand.

Related to image 7010 and video 7012.

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

Relapsing fever is caused by a bacterium and transmitted by certain soft-bodied ticks or body lice. The disease is seldom fatal in humans, but it can be very serious and prolonged. This scanning electron micrograph shows Borrelia hermsii (green), one of the bacterial species that causes the disease, interacting with red blood cells. Micrograph by Robert Fischer, NIAID. Related to image 3586.
For more information about relapsing fever, see https://www.cdc.gov/relapsing-fever/index.html.
This image is part of the Life: Magnified collection, which was displayed in the Gateway Gallery at Washington Dulles International Airport June 3, 2014, to January 21, 2015.

An adult Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, (~4 cm) surrounded by newly hatched juveniles (~2 mm) in a bowl of seawater.

Related to image 7011 and video 7012.

The 46 human chromosomes are shown in blue, with the telomeres appearing as white pinpoints. The DNA has already been copied, so each chromosome is actually made up of two identical lengths of DNA, each with its own two telomeres.

What looks a little like distant planets with some mysterious surface features are actually assemblies of proteins normally found in the cell's nucleolus, a small but very important protein complex located in the cell's nucleus. It forms on the chromosomes at the location where the genes for the RNAs are that make up the structure of the ribosome, the indispensable cellular machine that makes proteins from messenger RNAs.

However, how the nucleolus grows and maintains its structure has puzzled scientists for some time. It turns out that even though it looks like a simple liquid blob, it's rather well-organized, consisting of three distinct layers: the fibrillar center, where the RNA polymerase is active; the dense fibrillar component, which is enriched in the protein fibrillarin; and the granular component, which contains a protein called nucleophosmin. Researchers have now discovered that this multilayer structure of the nucleolus arises from differences in how the proteins in each compartment mix with water and with each other. These differences let the proteins readily separate from each other into the three nucleolus compartments.

This photo of nucleolus proteins in the eggs of a commonly used lab animal, the frog Xenopus laevis, shows each of the nucleolus compartments (the granular component is shown in red, the fibrillarin in yellow-green, and the fibrillar center in blue). The researchers have found that these compartments spontaneously fuse with each other on encounter without mixing with the other compartments.

For more details on this research, see this press release from Princeton. Related to video 3789, video 3791 and image 3792.

Living primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Mitochondria (green) stained with the mitochondrial membrane potential indicator, rhodamine 123. Nuclei (blue) are stained with DAPI. Caption from a November 26, 2012 news release from U Penn (Penn Medicine).

Section of a fruit fly retina showing the light-sensing molecules rhodopsin-5 (blue) and rhodopsin-6 (red).

Model of the mammalian iron enzyme cysteine dioxygenase from a mouse.

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.

3D reconstructions of two stages in the assembly of the bacterial ribosome created from time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy images. Ribosomes translate genetic instructions into proteins.