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50 Jaw-Dropping Microscopic Images From The 2025 Nikon Small World Competition
Article created by: Hidrėlėy
The winners of the 51st annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition have been announced, showcasing some of the most stunning and detailed images of the microscopic world. From insects to plant structures, these photographs reveal the beauty and complexity of tiny subjects we often overlook in our daily lives. The competition, run by Nikon Instruments, has been celebrating excellence in microscopy and digital imaging for over five decades, inspiring scientists and artists alike.
This year’s top prize went to China’s Zhang You for his incredible image of a rice weevil perched on a grain of rice, wings fully extended. Using a combination of photography skills, careful lighting, and focus stacking, You captured a moment that blends scientific detail with artistic flair. His work reminds us that even the smallest creatures can be fascinating and beautiful when seen up close.
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#1
3rd Place: John-Oliver Dum, Medienbunker Produktion, Bendorf, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany
"Pollen in a garden spider web."
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#2
Honorable Mention: Gregory B. Murray, Pritchard, British Columbia, Canada
"Frost on a wooden railing."
#3
Image Of Distinction: Ye Fei Zhang, Jiang Yin, Jiang Su, China
"Butterfly (Artopoetes pryeri) eggs."
#4
Image Of Distinction: Marek Miś, Marek Miś Photography, Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
"Crystallized soy sauce."
#5
Image Of Distinction: Dr. David Maitland, Art Of Science, St. Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
"Vascular bundles in a bamboo leaf (Phyllostachys sp.)."
#6
2nd Place: Dr. Jan Rosenboom, Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany
"Colonial algae (Volvox) spheres in a drop of water."
#7
5th Place: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Hhmi), Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, USA
"Spores (blue/purple structures) of a small tropical fern (Ceratopteris richardii)."
#8
11th Place: Marek Miś, Marek Miś Photography, Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
"Sunflower trichomes (hair-like plant outgrowths)."
#9
Honorable Mention: Michael Parra Puentes, Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia
"Thoracic and cephalic horn of a male beetle (Golofa porteri)."
#10
13th Place: Henri Koskinen, Helsinki University, Helsinki, Uudenmaan Lääni, Finland
"Slime mold (Arcyria major) releasing spores."
#11
14th Place: Manfred Heising, Lwl Museum Of Natural History Münster, Münster, Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany
"Quartz with biotic goethite filaments."
#12
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas, Crbm-Cnrs, Montpellier, Herault, France
"Tardigrade."
#13
Honorable Mention: Michael Robert Peres, Rochester Institute Of Technology, School Of Photographic Arts And Sciences, Rochester, New York, USA
"Melting snowflake."
#14
Image Of Distinction: Daniel Evrard, Aywaille, Liege, Belgium
"Androconial (pheromone producing) area of a butterfly (Colias) wing."
#15
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez, Albert Einstein College Of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
"Dedifferentiated liver cell."
#16
Image Of Distinction: Jianguo Mao, Shanghai, Shanghai, China
"Pregnant water flea (Daphnia)."
#17
1st Place: Zhang You, Kunming, Yunnan, China
"Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) on a grain of rice."
#18
Image Of Distinction: Karl Deckart, Eckental, Bavaria, Germany
"Recrystallization of phenyl imidazol."
#19
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Michael Weber, Berlin Institute Of Health At Charité, Department Of Human Genetics, Berlin, Germany
"Blood vessels in the limb of an embryonic mouse."
#20
Honorable Mention: Dr. Bruno Cisterna And Dr. Eric Vitriol, Medical College Of Georgia At Augusta University, Department Of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Augusta, Georgia, USA
"Human neurons reprogrammed from skin cells."
#21
Image Of Distinction: Jonathan Muyal, Paris, France
"Iridescent rutile (mineral) needles in a Burmese ruby."
#22
Image Of Distinction: Marek Miś, Marek Miś Photography, Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
"Air bubbles in melted polyvinyl alcohol."
#23
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Stephen De Lisle, Karlstad University, Department Of Environmental And Life Sciences, Karlstad, Värmland, Sweden
"Lily flower pollen (autofluorescence)."
#24
Image Of Distinction: Walter Ferrari, Walter Ferrari Macro, Rio Cuarto, Cordoba, Argentina
"True bug (Hemipteran) eggs on a leaf."
#26
Honorable Mention: Jiri Cerny, Institute Of Molecular Genetics Of The Czech Academy Of Sciences, Light Microscopy Core Facility, Prague, Czech Republic
"Jumping spider."
#27
Image Of Distinction: Joe Mckellar, Cnrs, The Institue Of Molecular Genetics Of Montpellier (Igmm), Montpellier, Hérault, France
"Giant human hepatic cancer cell surrounded by smaller cells."
#28
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Mette Handberg-Thorsager, Alexandre Alié And Lisa Maria Ulbrich, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Department Of Multiscale Biology, Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
"Oozoid of a sea squirt (Thalia democratica)."
#29
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Noah Bressman, Salisbury University, Department Of Biology, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
"Histologically-stained harvestfish/star butterfish (Peprilus paru)."
#30
Image Of Distinction: Solvin Zankl, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein , Germany
"A floating sea slug (Glaucus atlanticus, also known as the blue sea dragon)."
#32
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Laurent Formery, University Of California Berkeley, Department Of Molecular And Cell Biology, Pacific Grove, California, USA
"Skeleton of a juvenile sea cucumber."
#33
Image Of Distinction: Stephanie Huang, Victoria University Of Wellington, School Of Biological Sciences; School Of Psychology, Wellington, New Zealand
"Pyramidal neurons from the ventral orbital cortex (prefrontal cortex) from an adult rat brain."
#34
Image Of Distinction: Bernard Allard, Club Français De Microscopie, Sucy-En-Bry, France
"Parasitic fly (Crataerina hirundinis)."
#35
Image Of Distinction: Bilal Akhtar, Institute Of Molecular Biology, Neuroscience-Rna Biology, Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
"14-day-old mouse neuronal co-culture with astrocytes."
#36
Image Of Distinction: Frederic Labaune, Education Nationale, Auxonne, Burgundy, France
"Slime mold (Arcyria denudata)."
#37
Image Of Distinction: Robert Schmittling, Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA
"Eye of potato (stomate)."
#38
9th Place: Wim Van Egmond, Micropolitan Museum, Berkel En Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, Netherlands
"A fungus (Talaromyces purpureogenus) known for its red, diffused pigment."
#39
19th Place: Eduardo Carrasco, Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
"Parasitic fungus (Cordycipitaceae) on a fly (Calliphoridae)."
#40
Honorable Mention: Dr. Frédéric Fercoq And Jean-Gabriel Rothan, Muséum National D'histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
"Larvae of a filarial parasite (nematode)."
#41
Image Of Distinction: Daniel Han, Diatoms Australia (Macro Cosmos Imaging), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
"Diatoms (Arachnoidiscus sp.) on coralline algae."
#42
Image Of Distinction: Doong Yien, Xmato Works, Beijing, China
"Crystallization of a mixed solution of alanine and glutamine under polarized light."
#43
Image Of Distinction: Hannah Somers, Mdi Biological Laboratory, Light Microscopy Facility, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
"An adult zebrafish showing blood vessels in the brain."
#44
Image Of Distinction: Heiti Paves, Tallinn, Harju, Estonia
"Mouse embryo, sagittal section."
#45
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Julien Resseguier, University Of Oslo, Department Of Biosciences / Fyscell, Oslo, Viken, Norway
"Immune cells (magenta) protecting the different tissue compartments of the zebrafish intestines."
#46
Image Of Distinction: Shambhavi Dwivedi And Dr. Friedemann Kiefer, University Of Münster, Faculty Of Biology, Muenster, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany
"Mouse lymphatic network (red) flanking blood vessels (white)."
#47
Honorable Mention: Rebecca Lee, Yale University, Department Of Genetrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
"Villi in the mouse small intestine."
#48
Image Of Distinction: Dr. Rory L. Cooper And Professor Michel Milinkovitch, University Of Geneva, Department Of Genetics And Evolution, Geneva, Switzerland
"Wing of the chicken embryo after 11 days of development."
#49
10th Place: Dr. Dylan Burnette And Dr. James Hayes, Vanderbilt University School Of Medicine, Department Of Cell And Developmental Biology, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
"Heart muscle cells (iPSC-derived) showing condensed chromosomes in metaphase."
#50
4th Place: Dr. James Hayes, Vanderbilt University, Department Of Cell And Developmental Biology, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
"Heart muscle cells with chromosomes condensed following cell division."
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