Cell Branching :: by Robert Roberson

This image glows with the colors of fluorescent dyes used to stain tissue samples for easier viewing. Researchers add colored dyes to antibodies that attach to specific proteins. This “tags” the proteins and allows researchers to identify them. The image was created using a laser scanning confocal microscope

In this image, microtubules (green), their sites of nucleation (red/yellow) and nuclei (blue) are shown in the cytoplasm of the fungus Allomyces macrogynus. Rearrangements in cytoplasmic order are typically coupled to major events in cell morphogenesis—the process through which cells differentiate into different tissues or structures. This is evident here as the cell undergoes early stages of dichotomous branching.

Read more about Roberson's microscope art in "The art of life."