Content by The Scientist

Two pancreatic cancer cells form a tunneling nanotube, an extension of the cell membrane that allows them to exchange material and information, in this scanning electron micrograph.

In the male fruit fly (Drosophila) reproductive system, the “bond” enzyme (purple) controls pheromone production and the fertility of rival males (scale bar = 100 µm).

Audubon Florida employees and volunteers erected wire fencing around this gravel rooftop, home to a nesting colony of least terns (Sternula antillarum) in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to prevent the chicks from falling over the edge.

High-resolution, high-contrast X-rays (left) and traditional microscopy (right) reveal the tiny seeds concealed within these fruits.

Common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) embyonic stem cells form a sphere before transitioning into young immature neural cells (green) and mature neurons (red); nuclei stained in blue.

See scientists at work near the site where a new Homo species was recently found.

This green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans), with its matching coloration and spiny exterior, is well-disguised for ambushing prey on its chosen plant on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

Trichoplax adhaerens, an animal with only six cell types and no nervous system, secretes digestive enzymes to break down microalgae (red) and then ingests the material.

The star-shape tips on the leaf hairs of the “Pride of Rochester” shrub (Deutzia scabra), shown here with polarized light filtered through selenite, give its leaves a fine sandpaper-like texture.

A young Australian pot-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) emerges from its father's pouch.

A false-color X-ray reveals approximately 30 eggs inside this snapping turtle specimen.

An ancient, art-inspiring species of “sea scorpion” (Pentecopterus decorahensis) was recently unearthed in Iowa in more than 150 detailed fossil fragments, including this preserved appendage (scale bar = 1mm).

These sensory hair cells from a domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) turn sound vibrations into electrical signals that travel from the inner ear to the brain.

How the human ear translates sound waves into nervous impulses

September 2015's selection of notable quotes