This fine fellow is a bacteriophage. Bacteriophages (from Greek “devour”) are viruses that selectively affect the bacterial cells. The most common bacteriophages multiply inside bacteria. The particle size of from about 20 to 200 nm, where 1 nm = one billionth of a meter.
And this one is pericyte. Pericytes (green) on the capillary (red) — a small blood vessel. Pericytes play a key role in the maintenance of blood capillaries of the brain. They are key components of the neurovascular unit.
Hematopoietic stem cells in the marrow cavity — cells that form all other blood cells.
This and so much more is a creation of XVIVO. Well, creation of Mother Nature, to be precise. What XVIVO created is a scientific animation, marrying, in their own words, science and art.
One of the most exciting parts about creating medical animation is the front row seat we get interviewing the scientists that push discovery forward. In exchange, they appreciate our ability to understand their science and tell their stories in ways that are simple to comprehend.
A bunch of amazing video clips (the whole playlist of them on YouTube XVIVO-Biology and on XVIVO website) is, indeed, an amalgamation of art and science. Should I have had a visual aid like this as I studied biology in school… god knows, I might’ve become a biologist, intimately acquainted with at least a square millimeter of bacteriophages.
Contra Spem Spero... Et Rideo 