Specimen: Serum arrested Mouse L-1210 cells engaged in spontaneous apoptosis (programmed cell death) after nutrient depletion and acid hydrolysis

Specimen: Trout alevin (alevin is the second of four stages in the life cycle of a trout, when eggs hatch and the tiny fish begin to emerge)

Specimen: Dinosaur bone in thin section

Specimen: Single neuron from Drosophila brain in 3D

Specimen: Eupholus weevil, dried thorax scales, stack of 80 images

Specimen: Rat brain tissue

Specimen: Hydroid collected from kelp sample

Specimen: Developing bone (ossification) in a bird

Specimen: Adult mouse hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning and memory. Reactive astroglia (pale yellow) have proliferated and enlarged in response to neuronal activity over time

Specimen: Immature mouse hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning and memory

Specimen: Marine plankton Petalotricha ampulla with cilia extended

Specimen: Green alga Penium margaritaceum. The cell wall is green and the chloroplast is represented by autofluorescence

Specimen: Two damsel bugs (Nabis sp.) seemingly feeding on an aphid. Background is dried leaf of Norway maple (Acer platanoides)

Specimen: Stigma infected with Claviceps fungus

Specimen: Corn tissue

Specimen: Eyes and optic tectum of five-day-old zebrafish larva that has a mutation causing retinal axons to project into the olfactory lobe

Specimen: HIV-1–infected human macrophage sensing its environment

Specimen: Mouse liver showing the movement of macrophages (green cells) through the sinusoids

Specimen: Protozoan Elphidium crispum

Specimen: Cytoplasmic streaming in the cells of living elodea (aquatic plant)

Specimen: Forewing (elytron) of the green tiger beetle

Specimen: Stem section of Fragesia sp., garden bamboo, showing a vascular bundle

Specimen: Sorus of Asplenium trichomanes (maidenhair spleenwort), a small fern. A sorus is a cluster of sporangia, which produce and contain spores

Specimen: Bacteria

Specimen: Radiolarian skeleton. Radiolarians are single-cell protozoa with intricate mineral skeletons

Specimen: Fixed Drosophila third instar wing
imaginal disc

Specimen: European wasp head

Specimen: Mosquito wing. The iridescent colors, a natural phenomenon resulting from the wing structure itself, are similar to the colors seen in oil films or soap bubbles.

Specimen: Xenopus melanophore, showing microtubules, microtubule plus-ends and nucleus

Specimen: Water lily Nymphae alba showing idioblast on transverse section of stem

Specimen: Diatoms arranged in a familiar shape

Specimen: Mouse retina. Retinal astrocytes (red) and blood vessels (green) are visible.

Specimen: NIH-3T3 connective tissue cells co-transduced with 5 fluorescent proteins

Specimen: Juvenile live bay scallop Argopecten irradians

Specimen: Cross-section of bulrush (Juncus sp.) leaf, autofluorescing red (chlorophyll on external side of leaf) and blue (vascular bundles)

Specimen: Young sporangia of slime mold Arcyria stipata

Specimen: Sporangium of the slime molds Craterium minutum

Specimen: Sporangium of the slime mold Physarum leucophaeum

Specimen: Rat cerebral cortex with astrocytes’ (yellow) endfeet wrapping around blood vessels (red). Cell nuclei are cyan.

Specimen: Pretarsus of the third leg of a female drone fly (Eristalis tenax), ventral view.

Specimen: Drosophila ovary

Specimen: Underwater image of live coral Montastraea annularis

Specimen: Underwater image of live coral Montastraea annularis. Note polyp tissue (green) around the mouth and base of the tentacles and zooxanthellae (red fluorescence from chlorophyll) in the tissue between polyps. Tentacles also are visible.

Specimen: Human xenograft tumor HT-1080 cells.

"Adapted and reprinted by permission from the American Association for Cancer Research: Orth and Kohler, Cancer Res 2011;71:4608-4616."

Specimen: Fluorescent image of Tilia tree

Specimen: Pine Stem

Specimen: Mast cell - human eye with conjunctivitis. Image composed of 42 stacked sections.

Specimen: Drosophila sperm

Specimen: Arabidopsis leaf primordia. The first two true leaves emerging from the shoot apex, covered in sharp hairs (trichomes) to protect them from insects.

Specimen: Halammohydra schulzei, a hydra-type fresh-water cnidarian less than 1 millimeter long.

Specimen: Hymenolepis microstoma, a tapeworm parasite, showing anterior end. Phalloidin staining shows the suckers, pharynx and part of the body-wall musculature

Specimen: Neuronal culture

Specimen: Damselfly eye. The image reveals the regular, crystal-like hexagonal lattice of the eye’s elements

Specimen: Plant seed from freshwater pond near Moscow, Russia.

Specimen: Detail of a pod of flowering legume Scorpius muricatus

Specimen: Cross section of a cat tooth showing membrane surrounding the outside of tooth

Specimen: Epidermis of Sedum sp., a genus of flowering plants with succulent leaves

Specimen: Vorticella (bell animalcules), ciliates attached to filamentous alga

Specimen: Rotifers (stereoscopic 3D effect - view with red and blue anagyph glasses)

Specimen: Portulaca seed

Specimen: “Lost” axons - chick interneurons labeled with green fluorescent protein are transplanted from older into younger embryos.

Specimen: Zebrafish embryo development from a 2-cell egg to fish larva

Specimen: Curculionidae “snout beetle”

Specimen: Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum)

Specimen: Volume visualization “fly-through” of mouse somatosensory cortex