Anglerfish ovary cross-section. James E. Hayden, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. Source

Life Magnified

ByCarl Zimmer
June 08, 2014
4 min read

If you travel through Dulles Airport in the near future, you may see some lovely scientific images on the walls. It’s an exhibit called “Life: Magnified,” organized by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the American Society for Cell Biology and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Arts Program. If you aren’t passing through Dulles, you can see the images on the web.

Here are a few of my favorites. You can see high-resolution versions on the web site, plus many others.

First, the mouthparts of a Lone Star tick (an awesome beast):

Mouth parts of a lone star tick. Igor Siwanowicz, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Va.
Igor Siwanowicz, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Va.

Neurons in the cerebellum, a region of the brain:

Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San Diego
Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San Diego

HIV (yellow) attacks an immune cell (blue):

Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer and Austin Athman, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer and Austin Athman, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

New yeast emerge after two yeast cells have sex:

Juergen Berger, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, and Maria Langegger, Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society, Germany
Juergen Berger, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, and Maria Langegger, Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society, Germany

Hairs on a gecko lizard’s toes, allowing them to stick to walls:

Dennis Kunkel, Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.
Dennis Kunkel, Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.

An ovary from an anglerfish:

James E. Hayden, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.
James E. Hayden, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.

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