Credit: Dylan T. Burnette, NICHD, NIH
This stunning picture of a human bone cancer cell won artistic accolades: 3rd place in the Nikon Small World Competition. DNA, the blueprint of life, is actually blue in this photo. The yellow squiggles are little powerhouses called mitochondria that generate ATP ‘fuel’ for the cell. The purple wisps are filaments of actin, which help the cell move, keep its shape, and traffic chemicals from one part of the cell to another.
Happy New Year everyone.
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It’s an amazing photograph. Please let us know which type of bone cancer it represents.
Thanks, Ira! The type of bone cancer shown in this image is osteosarcoma.
Impressive! Thank you for sharing. Where can I get a copy to to add to my office decor?
Great picture;where are the cell walls and Golgi apparateus?
amazing picture … thank u for sharing.
Currently creating a website for Cancer Africa and sourcing for cool images of cancer cells similar to the one on this blog and 3D images.Any leads will be greatly appreciated!!!
Interesting how a dangerous cell can look so pretty…
Elizabeth, thanks for your comment and good luck with your project! Cancer and other non-communicable diseases are a growing health problem in Africa and other developing areas of the world.
For more cool science images, check out the online visual galleries offered by NIH’s various Institutes and Centers, http://www.nih.gov/about/nihphotos.htm. For images related to cancer, you might start with the National Cancer Institute, http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/. There’s also some terrific images of cells at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Multimedia.htm.