Sometimes bigger is better, but other times it’s all about the details, and as you can see from the winners of Nikon’s 2017 Small World Photomicrography competition, it doesn’t get more detailed than this.
The competition, which is now in its 43rd year, attracts doctors, scientists, and macro photography enthusiasts from all over the world, and over 2000 people from 88 countries submitted their work for consideration this year. For those of you who don’t know, photomicrography is the practice of taking a photograph through a microscope or similar magnifying device in order to capture the intricate details of things invisible to the human eye.
This year’s top prize went to researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, BioImaging Facility & Department of Cell Biology, who captured immortalised human skin cells expressing fluorescently tagged keratin. Scroll down to see the rest of the winners. The categories are divided into winners, honorable mentions, and images of distinction, and you can find the full list on the Nikon Small World website.
Jumping Spider, Istanbul, Honorable Mention(1/51)
Paracetamol (Common Painkiller) Crystals, Finland, Image Of Distinction(2/51)
The Head Of A Pork Tapeworm, New York, 4th Place(3/51)
Mold On A Tomato, Netanya, 5th Place(4/51)
Living Volvox Algae Releasing Its Daughter Colonies, Nantes, 3rd Place(5/51)
Plastic Fracturing On Credit Card Hologram, Texas, 11th Place(6/51)
Natural Bridge (Petiole Nodes) Connecting The Abdomen And Thorax Of An Ant, Izmir, Image Of Destinction(7/51)
Immortalized Human Skin Cells Expressing Fluorescently Tagged Keratin, Amsterdam, 1st Place(8/51)
3rd Trimester Fetus Of Megachiroptera, Colorado, 15th Place(9/51)
Traxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Cross Section Showing Curved Stigma With Pollen, Nottingham, Honorable Mention(10/51)
Synapta (Sea-Cucumber) Skin, Le Mans, 18th Place(11/51)
Moth Eggs In Spider Silk, Illinois, Image Of Destinction(12/51)
Asilidae (Rubber Fly) Eye Section, Abu Dhabi, Image Of Distinction(13/51)
Abdominal Proleg Of A Caterpillar, Netanya, Image Of Destinction(14/51)
Senecio Vulgaris Seed Head, Israel, 2nd Place(15/51)
Small Moth, Rostock, Image Of Destinction(17/51)
Lily Pollen, Southampton, 6th Place(17/51)
Opiliones (Daddy Longlegs) Eye, Washington, 12th Place(16/51)
Nsutite And Cacoxenite (Minerals), Madrid, Image Of Distinction(19/51)
Ganglion Cells Expressing Fluorescent Proteins In A Mouse Retina, California, Honorable Mention(20/51)
Pyromorphite (Mineral), Spain, Image Of Distinction(21/51)
Broccoli, Washington, Honorable Mention(22/51)
Individually Labeled Axons In An Embryonic Chick Ciliary Ganglion, Nagoya, 7th Place(23/51)
Simple Eyes Of Ectemnius With Condensation, Tonbridge, Image Of Destinction(24/51)
Melaleuca Sp. (Paperbark Tree) Leaf, Perth, Image Of Distinction(25/51)
Parus Major (Titmouse) Down Feather, Podlaskie, 16th Place(26/51)
Aspergillus Flavus (Fungus) And Yeast Colony From Soil, New York, 20th Place(27/51)
Neurons Derived From A Parkinson Patient, Seongnam, Honorable Mention(28/51)
Dyed Human Hair, Steinberg, 17th Place(29/51)
Growing Cartilage-Like Tissue In The Lab Using Bone Stem Cells (Collagen Fibers In Green And Fat Deposits In Red), Southampton, 9th Place(30/51)
Liquid Crystal, Colorado, Honorable Mention(31/51)
Nerves (In Green) Under The Skin Of A Mouse (Hair Follicles Are Shown In Red And Blue), Uk, Image Of Distinction(32/51)
Natural Sponge, Uk, Image Of Distinction(33/51)
Prostate Cancer Cells, Usa, Image Of Distinction(34/51)
Label-Free Optical Imaging Of Human Breast Tissue, Illinois, Image Of Distinction(35/51)
Circocerus (Beetle) Head, Kiel, Image Of Distinction(36/51)
Hippocampal (Brain) Region, California, Image Of Distinction(37/51)
Human Tongue Blood Vessels Injected With Lead Chromate, New York, Honorable Mention(38/51)
Phyllobius Roboretanus (Weevil), Keszthely, 10th Place(39/51)
Exaerete Frontalis From The Collections Of The Oxford University Museum Of Natural History, Ramsbury, 13th Place(40/51)
Warp Knitted Curtain Fabric, Zwijnaarde, Honorable Mention(41/51)
Stamen (Flower Organ),yahud Monsun, Image Of Distinction(42/51)
Newborn Rat Cochlea With Sensory Hair Cells (Green) And Spiral Ganglion Neurons (Red), Bern, 8th Place(43/51)
Common Mestra Butterfly Eggs, Laid On A Leaf Of Tragia Sp., Texas, 14th Place(44/51)
Migrasome Of A Mouse Fibroblast Cell (L929), Beijing, Image Of Distinction(45/51)
Pleurotaenium Ovatum, Panama, Image Of Distinction(46/51)
Sagittal Section Of Mouse Cerebellum (Brain), Athens, Image Of Distinction(47/51)
Early Stage Development Of Alcea Rosea (An Ornamental Flower), Usa, Image Of Distinction(48/51)
Embryonic Body Wall From A Developing Mus Musculus, Tennessee, 19th Place(49/51)
Dye-Injected Hippocampal Interneuron In Mouse Brain Section, Budapest, Honorable Mention(50/51)
Ciliated Respiratory Epithelial Cells (Yellow) And Mucus Producing Goblet Cells (Cyan), Containing Tight Junctions (Red) And Nuclei (Blue), Rotterdam, Honorable Mention(51/51)
