Biology Links


Cells Alive

Illustration of HIV infections a cell and releasing its RNA

An illustration of bronchiole tree branches in the lobes of the lungs

The stages of bronchiole reaction to an asthmatic attack

Antibody compound is transported into a cell where a toxin destroys DNA.

Animation of Neutrophil migration-When a neutrophil learns that pathogens are present outside of a blood vessel, it actively migrates to the vicinity, seeks out a weak spot, and squeezes through the cell wall.

beautiful illustration of neurons connected by dendrites

Illustration of a blood clot beginning to form in a blood vessel

Illustration of platelets aggregating at the site of a wound in a blood vessel

Flash animation showing the formation of plaque in an artery

Flash animation showing the anatomy of the heart

HIV Lifecycle - Flash animation

High Density Lipoprotein Particle (Quicktime Video, 8.1M) The model surrounded a circular disk of 160 lipids, forming a bilayer, with two apoA-I proteins and 6000 water molecules, altogether a 46,000 atom system

Flash animation of the heart - "navigation" allows you to rotate the heart in any direction

CT Heart Arteries Fly Through - This is a fly around the arteries of the heart. The data for this example comes from a cadaver study. Higher power levels were used in the CT imaging giving very clear detail of the arteries. 

CT Torso Fly Through - This is a fly around the torso section of a person. In the image you can see the liver (in wireframe), the spleen (in purple), the kidneys (in gold), and tumors on the kidneys (in red). The data comes from a CT scanner.

CT Lung Fly Through - The lung fly through shown here uses CT data from one of GE Medical Systems newest CT scanners. The helical scanning technique employed gathers the data within a single breath hold. 

MR Brain Fly Through - In contrast to the skull fly through shown above, the brain fly through takes you on a tour through the gray matter of the brain. The major regions of the brain have been segmented and colored to distinguish them.

CT Skull Fly Through - This skull fly through shows the results of a 3D visualization of CT data. The animation path examines the sinuses. Only the skin and bone are selected for viewing in this animation.

CT Colon Fly Through - This is a path through a patient's colon. This is a collaboration between GE R&D and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston

Flash animation of a synapse

Flash animation showing the fertilization of an egg and the growth of a baby - not very detailed

Connected nerves - shows dendrites, cell bodies, axons, and an action potential moving from one nerve to another

Beautiful animation of a nerve cell causing a muscle contraction - shows an axon with myelin sheaths and nodes of ranvier, a synapse realeasing neurotransmitters that stimulate a muscle to contract

Really Good Interactive Site on DNA


The Ethics of Human Cloning:  NPR's Bob Edwards talks to University of Minnesota Director of Bioethics Dr. Jeffrey Kahn about the ethics of cloning humans  Feb. 12, 2004 []

Dolly's Creator Weighs in on Human Cloning 
Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut set off a furor when his team created Dolly, the cloned sheep. Now Wilmut has written an article provocatively titled, "Human Cloning: Can it be Made Safe?" Wilmut and other scientists believe the answer to that question, at least for now, is no. NPR's Joe Palca reports.  Oct. 31, 2003