Multimedia Gallery
"Pulmonary Plains," by Jerome Carpenter
"Pulmonary Plains," by Jerome Carpenter. A breath of air sweeps over these human epithelial cells, which line the human airway and keep our lungs clean and germ-free. The cells secrete mucins (the boulder-like formations in this image) that trap germs and contaminants. The grass-like cilia push any contaminated mucus out of the lungs. Carpenter is a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [Equipment: Scanning electron microscope.]
More about this image
This image is from the second annual scientific art competition held by the Chapel Hill Analytical and Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL). CHANL is home to a series of electron microscopes; an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer; a cleanroom with photolithography, deposition and etching systems; and many other powerful imaging tools and equipment. The scientific art competition takes place in the spring and is open to anyone on campus. Entries this year came from students and faculty across the university, including many in pharmacy, biomedical engineering, medicine, computer science, studio art, physics and astronomy, and chemistry. Additional information on the competition and CHANL can be found on the CHANL website. (Date image taken: 2009; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Sept. 14, 2017)
Credit: Jerome Carpenter, Center for Computer Integrated Systems for Microscopy and Manipulation (CISMM ) and the Virtual Lung Project, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
See other images like this on your iPhone or iPad download NSF Science Zone on the Apple App Store.
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (1.2 MB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.