Because we learn so much about our world through vision, images have become a crucial part of modern science. Pictures lend an immediacy and a deeper understanding of complex phenomena, from cells to stars, that cannot be captured by numbers alone. But in addition to providing compelling data, scientific images can also be valuable for their sheer beauty. A selection of dazzling images from the life sciences now adorns the TAC Gallery, a permanent exhibit adjoining The Anlyan Center, a hub of biomedical research at the School of Medicine. We will feature more images from the TAC Gallery in this space in future issues.
- Structural images of a portion of TUG, a protein involved in glucose metabolism, from the laboratory of Jonathan S. Bogan, assistant professor of medicine. The overall shape of the protein’s backbone is shown at upper left, while particular features are highlighted at upper right. The electrostatic charge present at the protein’s surface is shown at lower left, and the degree of flexibility of various components of the protein is shown at lower right. Bogan was joined in this work by Michael E. Hodsdon, M. Cristina Tettamanzi, and Chenfei Yu.
- In a micrograph from the laboratory of Ensign Professor of Medicine Arthur E. Broadus, the blue reaction product of the enzyme ß-galactosidase identifies sites of expression of a protein related to parathyroid hormone in a 15-day-old embryonic mouse. Prominent among these sites are whisker and hair follicles, nailbeds, the epithelia of the nostrils and mouth and cartilage in the mouse’s growing skeleton. Broadus’s collaborators include Xuesong Chen, Barbara E. Dreyer, Vicki E. Hammond, Julie R. Hens and William M. Philbrick.
- Crystallized rat bile seen in a brightfield micrograph utilizing Nomarksi interference optics by Albert Mennone, research associate in the Yale Liver Center.
- In this confocal micrograph by Lynn Neff, an osteoclast, a type of cell that degrades and resorbs bone, has been labeled with fluorescent antibodies that show the cell’s multiple nuclei (blue), microtubules (green), and actin filaments (red). Neff’s work was carried out in the laboratory of Roland Baron, professor of orthopaedics and cell biology.