Since 1974, the Nikon Small World Photomicrography has annually rewarded the most extraordinary photos of the microscopic world. These are exceptional images captured under a microscope. They reveal the secrets of the miniature world which is as beautiful as it is complex.
This year marks the 50the anniversary of this photography competition. After the hilarious animal photos from the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, discover some breathtaking images.
Tumor cells in a mouse's brain won the microscopic photography competition
As Nikon explains on its site, this competition serves to “reward and recognize the efforts of photographers working with an optical microscope. Since then, Small World has become a leading showcase for photomicrographs from a wide range of scientific disciplines.”
First place on the podium was awarded to Dr Bruno Cisterna who captured a magnificent image with the help of Dr Eric Vitriol. You can see it at the beginning of the article. This photo depicts the complex structures of differentiated brain tumor cells in a mouse. It was captured as part of research that aims to better understand how changes in cell structures can lead to neurodegenerative diseases.
The image that won second place was of an electric arc formed between a pin and a wire. This arc is a discharge of current through a gap in an electrical circuit. It was created using a potential difference of 10,000 volts. The photo was taken by Dr. Marcel Clemens.
An electric arc – Photo credits: Dr Marcel Clemens / Nikon Small World
The eyes of a crab spider and octopus eggs are among the competition winners
Some Nikon Small World Photomicrography photos also show tiny animals from the microscopic world. This is the case of the image captured by Paweł Błachowicz. These are the eyes of a single crab spider, also called the tricolor thomise (Diaea dorsata). It is characterized by a bright green body.
The eyes of a crab spider – Photo credits: Paweł Błachowicz / Nikon Small World
Next, Nikon selected an image by Thomas Barlow and Connor Gibbons showing a cluster of octopus eggs. Octopus embryos are already well formed inside the translucent eggs.
A cluster of octopus eggs – Photo credits: Thomas Barlow and Connor Gibbons/ Nikon Small World
A parasitized insect egg and water fleas photographed under a microscope
The photo competition also rewarded less magical images, but which perfectly depict the phenomena of the miniature world. The image of Alison Pollack who won the 18e place thus shows an insect egg which has been parasitized by a wasp.
An insect egg parasitized by a wasp – Photo credits: Alison Pollack / Nikon Small World
Another exceptional image to discover is that of Marek Miś. This is the photo of two “water fleas” or daphnia. These are microscopic crustaceans found in fresh and stagnant water. Under a microscope, their translucent body reveals all their internal organs. We see embryos in the chip on the left and eggs in the one on the right.
Two water fleas – Photo credits: Marek Miś / Nikon Small World
Finally, you can of course find all the winners of the Nikon Small World Photomicrography on the competition website.
Source: IFLScience
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