30 Mind-Blowing Microscopic Images From The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest
The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, now in its 50th year, celebrates the beauty and science behind the smallest details of our world. Each year, scientists and artists from around the globe submit stunning microscope images that reveal extraordinary views of life on a microscopic scale. From intricate cell structures to fascinating natural phenomena, these images offer a unique glimpse into the hidden world around us.
This year’s winners did not disappoint. First place was awarded to Dr. Bruno Cisterna for his incredible image of mouse brain tumor cells, which sheds light on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and ALS. The 2024 competition continues to highlight how microscopy advances both art and science.
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Image Of Distinction - Zhang Chao
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, China
"Beach sand."
This is pretty, but not typical of beach sand. I think it is sand grains that are hand picked from the 'boring' ones. A year or two back, after seeing similar pictures, I brought home some samples of sand and viewed them under my microscope. My local sand is BORING compared to above. There were some pretty grains that mostly looked like quartz. (pretty, but clear). But most of it was opaque and dull. Think like very tiny pieces of granite and sandstone type of look instead of "this would make a beautiful stained glass window" type of look.
I wonder how little creatures see the world. It must be full of color
The organizers of Nikon Small World 2024 revealed that judges reviewed entries from around the world to choose the winners. They looked for images that stood out for their originality, the information they showed, technical skill, and visual appeal.
This year, the competition received about 2,100 photos from 80 different countries.
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Laurent Formery And Dr. Nathaniel Clarke
Stanford University
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
Pacific Grove, California, USA
"Nervous system of a young sea star."
12th Place - Daniel Knop
Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany
"Wing scales of a butterfly (Papilio ulysses) on a medical syringe needle."
Dr. Cisterna’s winning image is not just beautiful—it’s important for science. His work helps us understand how changes in the structure of brain cells may lead to diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS. By capturing this image, Dr. Cisterna gives us a better view of how these diseases work, which could help find treatments in the future. His image truly combines science and art, showing how powerful and meaningful microscopy can be.
"One of the main problems with neurodegenerative diseases is that we don't fully understand what causes them,” said Dr. Cisterna. “To develop effective treatments, we need to figure out the basics first. Our research is crucial for uncovering this knowledge and ultimately finding a cure. Differentiated cells could be used to study how mutations or toxic proteins that cause Alzheimer's or ALS alter neuronal morphology, as well as to screen potential drugs or gene therapies aimed at protecting neurons or restoring their function.”
Image Of Distinction - Timothy Boomer
Vacaville, California, USA
"Slime mold (Prototrichia metallica)."
There are so many kinds of slime mold and many of them are beautiful under a microscope. And the transformation is very stark. A pretty butterfly wing looks pretty with the naked eye or the microscope. Slime mold is usually ugly with the naked eye. Can look like the dog threw up or something. Then under microscope it turns into this beautiful ornament or alien looking thing. Seriously - if bored, google pictures of other slime mold. Cool stuff.
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Håkan Kvarnström
Bromma, Sweden
"Peacock plume feather."
“After three years of research, we finally published our findings four months ago in the Journal of Cell Biology, and there's still more work to be done. I’m deeply passionate about scientific imaging; I’ve been following the Nikon Small World contest for about 15 years. It's an incredible contest that highlights the beauty of photomicrography but also inspires continued exploration and innovation in the field," said Dr. Cisterna.
Honorable Mention - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA
"Antenna of a mole crab."
3rd Place - Chris Romaine
Port Townsend, Washington, USA
"Leaf of a cannabis plant. The bulbous glands are trichomes. The bubbles inside are cannabinoid vesicles."
I mean, it has turned me into a space cadet once or thrice...
Load More Replies...Of course the cannabis pic would be from Washington 😂 (people really love their Mary Jane up here, there are several growing facilities just a couple minutes from my house!)
Sara, Yes, we do. LOL. But I prefer RSO made into edibles over flower. Smoking makes me feel like I'm coughing up a lung. Was some grow ops in my area. I think still but not sure. The one I know of for sure closed down. A house near my friend is a quiet business but they don't grow, just process and package for distribution to retailers.
Load More Replies...Second place went to Dr. Marcel Clemens, who captured an electrical arc between a pin and a wire, created by a 10,000-volt charge. Third place was awarded to Chris Romaine for his close-up of a cannabis leaf, showing tiny trichomes and cannabinoid vesicles. These images, along with many others from the 2024 competition, show the beauty and variety of the microscopic world, blending creativity and science in exciting ways.
Image Of Distinction - Uwe Lange
Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
"Pollen on the compound eyes of a fly."
I know, I'm childish and all, but... that pollen looks like a penis. 🤭
No expert, but did an experiment in biology class in school about recessive/dominant genes using fruit flies with red or black eyes. I believe it was the black eyes that are the dominant gene, but probably under a more powerful microscope, there would still be some bits of red in a black eyed fly born from a parent with the red eyed gene
Load More Replies...Image Of Distinction - Ted Kinsman
Rochester Institute of Technology
Photosciences Department
Rochester, New York, USA
"A common house cat claw."
The 2024 judging panel included:
• Adrian Coakley, Director of Photography at National Geographic Books;
• Michelle S. Itano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology and Director of the Neuroscience Microscopy Core at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
• Emily Petersen, Photography Managing Editor at Science Magazine;
• Clare Waterman, Ph.D., Cell Biologist and Member of the National Academy of Sciences;
• Jennifer C. Waters, Ph.D., Director of the Core for Imaging Technology & Education at Harvard Medical School;
• Samantha Yammine, Ph.D., Neuroscientist and Science Communicator.
13th Place - Paweł Błachowicz
Bedlno, Świętokrzyskie, Poland
"Eyes of green crab spider (Diaea dorsata)."
That looks like something from the more spooky version of Monsters, Inc.
I love spiders. I really do. But that is a complete and absolute “F**K NO”
Is this before or after the spider was bitten by the radioactive crab?
2nd Place - Dr. Marcel Clemens
Verona, Veneto, Italy
"Electrical arc between a pin and a wire."
looks like a ufo sending a beam down while electrocuting the ground
5th Place - Thomas Barlow And Connor Gibbons
Columbia University
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
New York, New York, USA
"Cluster of octopus (Octopus hummelincki) eggs."
Honorable Mention - Randy Fullbright
Vernal, Utah, USA
"Agatized dinosaur bone."
Honorable Mention - Jochen Stern
Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
"Golden bug eggs on a sage leaf."
I especially like the surface of the sage leaf. You can feel it is velvety to the touch, and this picture shows exactly why that is.
I don't know if the actual bug type is a pest (probably for sage at least) but those eggs are really pretty. I googled golden bug but that seems to be merely a color description not the common name of a bug. Google image search suggests Squash Bug. Eggs are similar color but pictures I found not quite as "metallic" looking. PS - some of the adults (there are different variety) look like the same ones I call stink bugs.
This is why we use scientific names... because there's a golden beetle... or the "golden" could simply be referring to the color of the eggs themselves.
Load More Replies...Honorable Mention - Dr. Bruce Douglas Taubert
Glendale, Arizona, USA
"Ocelli between the compound eyes of a yellow jacket."
At least you're looking at the front end, not the stingy end :)
Load More Replies...I read article bc thought this was a bumble bee. Yellow jackets and wasps can F right off!
Image Of Distinction - Thomas Neumann
Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
"Ink dot on Japanese washi paper."
6th Place - Henri Koskinen
Helsinki University
Helsinki, Uudenmaan lääni, Finland
"Slime mold (Cribraria cancellata)."
I had to back out, sign in and scroll back to this entry just to commend you on your comment. Nice work 👍
Load More Replies...Image Of Distinction - Elkhan Yusifov And Dr. Martina Schaettin
University of Zurich
Department of Molecular Life Sciences
Zurich, Switzerland
"Developing nervous system in the eye of a 7-day-old chick embryo."
7th Place - Gerhard Vlcek
Maria Enzersdorf, Austria
"Cross section of European beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) leaf."
Honorable Mention - Daniel Evrard
Aywaille, Liege, Belgium
"Vinyl player needle on scratched vinyl disk."
"scratched" as in damaged? I'd like to see how that looks with a pristine vinyl.
ABC, Probably damaged. Modern vinyl records are made by pressing a master image into the heated vinyl - so not scratching. I think some of the really old stuff (like wax cylinders) scratched while imprinting the sound.
Load More Replies...9th Place - John-Oliver Dum
Medienbunker Produktion
Bendorf, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany
"Pollen in a garden spider (Araneus) web."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Saikat Ghosh
National Institutes of Health
NICHD
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
"Human neurons."
Image Of Distinction - Joshua Coogler
Dallas, North Carolina, USA
"Moss sporophyte with spores (green)."
Dallas NC is just NW of Charlotte, if anyone is wondering. ;)
Image Of Distinction - Daniel Knop
Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany
"Opening of a hibiscus flower (Hibiscus moscheutos) exposing the pollen in four stages, each ten minutes apart."
11th Place - Dr. Ferenc Halmos
Bánd, Veszprém, Hungary
"Slime mold on a rotten twig with water droplets."
Image Of Distinction - Daniel Knop
Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany
"Dorsal part of cuckoo wasp (Hedychrum gerstaeckeri) abdomen."
Image Of Distinction - Jacek Myslowski
Wloclawek, Kujawko-Pomorskie, Poland
"Water mite (Arrenurus)."
16th Place - Marek Miś
Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
"Two water fleas (Daphnia sp.) with embryos (left) and eggs (right)."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA
"Aster anther cross-section with pollen grains (green)."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Robert Markus
University of Nottingham
School of Life Sciences, Super Resolution Microscopy
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
"Dandelion (Traxacum officinale) cross section showing curved stigma with pollen."
Understanding the raw and gritty struggles faced by communities is crucial, much like unveiling intricate details only visible under a microscope. At Kensington Avenue, residents share their poignant stories which reflect societal issues at their core, akin to the way photomicrography opens up hidden worlds of science.
Delve deeper into these revelations about life’s unseen facets by exploring the detailed documentation of raw experiences on the challenges faced by a particular Philadelphia community.
Image Of Distinction - Susannah Waxman And Dr. Ian Sigal
University of Pittsburgh
Department of Ophthalmology
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
"Optic nerve head collagen of a pig."
Or, for those of you like me very confused with the title: collagen fibers in the optic nerve head (a structure where the optic nerves exit the eye) in a pig. Collagen is a protein involved in structure and schaffolding. Roughly :)
Thank you for dissecting that :-) English is a marvellous language, but these multi-word compounds can be challenging.
Load More Replies...Honorable Mention -Dr. Kseniia Bondarenko
University of Edinburgh
Institute for Immunology and Infection Research
Edinburgh, MidLothian, United Kingdom
"Acute-stage parasites of Toxoplasma gondii in a human skin cell."
Image Of Distinction - Chris Romaine
Port Townsend, Washington, USA
"Bract (part of the plant's reproductive structures) of a cannabis plant. The bulbous glands are trichomes."
To simplify: Bracts are modified leaves. The red parts of poinsettias, and the white "petals" of Florida dogwoods are bracts. The flower is actually the little green parts in the middle.
19th Place - Alison Pollack
San Anselmo, California, USA
"Seed of a Silene plant."
This is an example of a silene plant Silene-pla...d9-png.jpg
Honorable Mention - Dr. David Maitland
St. Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
"Transverse section of rachis (stem) of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum)."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Sherif Abdallah Ahmed
Tanta University, Faculty of Science
Department of Zoology
Tanta, Egypt, Arab Republic
"Anterior section of palm weevil."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Felice Placenti
FP Nature and Landscape Photography
Siracusa, Sicilia, Italy
"Potato tuber sprout."
Is this the lil green bits that pop out when you forget about your potatoes for too long?? 🤔 I didn't know they were so pretty!
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Nick Gatford
University of Oxford
Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCN)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
"A network of dopaminergic neurons generated from human stem cells."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Marko Pende
MDI Biological Laboratory
Murawala Lab
Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
"Ladybug (Coccinellidae) on a clover (Trifolium repens)."
I was thinking the same. It’s gorgeous.
Load More Replies...Image Of Distinction - Dr. Grigorii Timin And Dr. Michel Milinkovitch
University of Geneva
Department of Genetics and Evolution
Geneva, Switzerland
"Skin scales of a snake embryo stained with Fast Green dye."
Image Of Distinction - Gerd A. Günther
Düsseldorf, Germany
"Cross section of a beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) leaf."
Image Of Distinction - Alison Pollack
San Anselmo, California, USA
"Slime mold (Lamproderma arcyrioides)."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Martin Hein
Lions Eye Institute
Physiology and Pharmacology laboratory
Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
"Abnormal blood vessel formation in a human retina with severe diabetic retinopathy."
Image Of Distinction - Steven A. Valley
Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
Entomology Lab
Albany, Oregon, USA
"Immature male damselfly (Calopteryx aequabilis)."
1st Place - Dr. Bruno Cisterna And Dr. Eric Vitriol
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine
Augusta, Georgia, USA
"Differentiated mouse brain tumor cells (actin, microtubules, and nuclei)."
No, it just did not get voted up as much as the others.
Load More Replies...Honorable Mention - Christopher Algar
Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom
"Brine shrimp."
Image Of Distinction - Shao Yang
Beijing Miteyide Culture Co., Ltd.A925
Beijing, China
"Fiber of nylon stockings."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Guillermo Moya
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Biology
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
"Neuronal axons connecting to the muscles of the iris and the cornea."
Image Of Distinction - Chew Yen Fook
Woodend, Waimakiriri, New ZealandA936
"Graffiti from Berlin Wall stone section."
4th Place - Dr. Amy Engevik
Medical University of South Carolina
Department of Regenerative Medicine & Cell Biology
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
"Section of a small intestine of a mouse."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas
RBM-CNRS
Montpellier, Herault, France
"Tardigrade (Hypsibius exemplaris)."
10th Place - Jan Martinek
Charles University
Department of Experimental Plant Biology
Prague, Czech Republic
"Spores of black truffle (Tuber melanosporum)."
Wow, this looks so 3D! The greens advance and the oranges recede.
14th Place - Marek Miś
Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
"Recrystallized mixture of hydroquinone and myoinositol."
Honorable Mention - Angus Rae
Australian National University
Centre for Advanced MicroscopyA306
MacGregor, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
"Autofluorescence in the face of a little two-spotted ladybird (Diomus notescens)."
Image Of Distinction - Didier Barbet
Club Français de Microscopie
Bailly, France
"Fracture surface of mica (mineral)."
18th Place - Alison Pollack
San Anselmo, California, USA
"An insect egg parasitized by a wasp."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA
"Floret of a common chicory with pollen grains (spiky balls)."
Image Of Distinction - Chew Yen Fook
Woodend, Waimakiriri, New Zealand
"Water mite (Hydrachna sp.)."
Totoro's ghost or Totoro after a CT scan. Totoro-671...7a265e.jpg
Image Of Distinction - Ou Zhilei
Guangdong Radio and Television
Guangzhou, Guagndong, China
"Stamens of flowers (Anemone cathayensis Kitag. ex Ziman & Kadota)."
Image Of Distinction - Aryah Nagarajan
Falmouth University
Institute of Photography
Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom
"Spores releasing from the sori of a Polypody fern (Polypodium vulgare)."
This be giving off strong "Rat King" energy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king
17th Place - Dr. Frantisek Bednar
Svosov, Zilinsky, Slovak Republic
"Stonewort algae (Chara virgata) reproductive organs - oogonia (female organs) and antheridia (male organs)."
8th Place - Stephanie Huang
Victoria University of Wellington
School of Biological Sciences; School of Psychology
Wellington, New Zealand
"A neuron densely covered in dendritic spines from the striatum of an adult rat brain."
15th Place - Sébastien Malo
Saint Lys, Haute-Garonne, France
"Isolated scales on Madagascan sunset moth wing (Chrysiridia ripheus)."
Image Of Distinction - Nikky Corthout And Miranda Dyson
VIB (Flanders Institute of Biotechnology)
Center for Brain and Disease Research
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
"Fruit fly (Drosophila) brain vasculature."
Image Of Distinction - Nadia Efimova
Amicus Therapeutics
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
"Dandelion pappus."
Image Of Distinction - Anna-Mari Elisabeth Haapanen-Saaristo
University of Turku
Turku Bioscience Centre / Cell Imaging & Cytometry Core and Zebrafish Core
"Gene expression patterns in a drain fly embryo (Clogmia albipunctata) with an open egg. Nutrient storage cells in a tardigrade."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Amir Maqbool
Lovely Professional University
Department of Zoology
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
"Small fly killed by 'zombie fly' fungus (Entomophthora muscae)."
Image Of Distinction - Jan Martinek
Charles University
Department of Experimental Plant Biology
Prague, Czech Republic
"Spores of a black Bagnoli truffle (Tuber mesentericum)."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Adolfo Ruiz De Segovia
Madrid, Spain
"Plant root."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Florian Alonso
University of Bordeaux
BioTis-INSERM U1026A383
Pessac, Gironde, France
"Mouse aortic endothelium stained for beta-catenin (green), laminin (purple), smooth muscle actin (red), and Hoechst (cyan)."
Hoechst should be Nuclus or DNA. Hoechst is the dye that show that structure, just like the others show beta-catenin, laminin, and actin.
Image Of Distinction - Satu Paavonsalo And Dr. Sinem Karaman
University of Helsinki
Individualized Drug Therapy Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, Helsinki, FinlandA700
Helsinki, Finland
"Blood vessels (color gradient) and endothelial cell nuclei (white) in the intestinal villi of a mouse."
Honorable Mention - Kevin Terretaz
CRBM-CNRS
Montpellier, Hérault, France
"Mosquito cells in culture with fluorescent markers for DNA and microtubules."
Image Of Distinction - Anne Patricia Algar
Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom
"Mosquito larva."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Ewa Langner
Washington University in St Louis
Department of Medicine - Renal Division, Mahjoub Lab
St Louis, Missouri, USA
"Mouse embryonic kidney showing interstitial fibroblasts (yellow), tubular epithelium (cyan), and nuclei (magenta)."
Image Of Distinction - Yurim Seo, Dr. Mark Looney And Dr. Simon Cleary
University of California, San Francisco
Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine
San Francisco, California, USA
"Lymphatic vasculature (cyan) and vessels (red) of a mouse lung."
Image Of Distinction - Maxime Teixeira
Laval University
Department of Molecular Medicine
Québec, CanadaA858
"Cultured monkey kidney cells labeled for tubulin (blue) and actin (orange) showing pathological accumulation of alpha-syn aggregates (red)."
20th Place - Dr. Bruno Cisterna And Dr. Eric Vitriol
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative MedicineA215
Augusta, Georgia, USA
"Early stage of mouse glioblastoma cell differentiation (actin, microtubules, and mitochondria)."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Bruno Vellutini
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Dresden, Saxony, GermanyA903
"Gene expression patterns in a drain fly embryo (Clogmia albipunctata) with an open eggshell."
Oof, I'm trying to get rid of drain flies in my kitchen and bathroom right now. It's not helpful to think of them as pretty!
I had to look them up not realizing I have them too. I found this...https://www.thespruce.com/getting-rid-of-drain-flies-2656670
Load More Replies...Image Of Distinction - Wen Jie Ji
Yin Works
The Bureau of Microworld Exploration
Beijing, China
"Integrated circuit chip."
Definitely looks like some sort of 8-bit pipe building game.
Load More Replies...Image Of Distinction - Dr. Bruce Douglas Taubert
Glendale, Arizona, USA
"Mid-tibial tuft on a male orchid bee, used to attract mates."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Theo Theune
Oost-Souburg, Zeeland, Netherlands
"Abdominal skin of a tick that engorged with blood."
Honorable Mention -Dr. Anja De Lange
University of Cape Town
Neuroscience Institute & Department of Human BiologyA249
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
"Astrocytes surrounding a blood vessel in a thin slice of human brain."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Leo Serra
University of Cambridge
Sainsbury Laboratory
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
"Leaves arising from thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) meristem."
Image Of Distinction - Luna Šošo Zdravković, Michael Surala And Christian Madry
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Institute of Neurophysiology
Berlin, Germany
"Pyramidal neuron in mouse hippocampus."
Image Of Distinction - Karl Gaff
Dublin, Ireland
"Larva of a midge fly (Chironomidae)."
Honorable Mention - Dr. Amy Engevik
Medical University of South Carolina
Department of Regenerative Medicine & Cell Biology
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
"Intestinal villi."
Image Of Distinction - Dr. Robert Markus, Dr. Zeeshan Mohammad, Dr. Sarah Pashley And Dr. Rita Tewari
University of Nottingham
School of Life Sciences, Super Resolution MicroscopyA632
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
"Malaria parasites and mouse blood cells - tubulin (green), all proteins (purple), DNA (red)."
so interesting ! Thank you so much for this dive into the infinitely small
Nikonsmallworld.com, if you're wondering. They also do videos. My personal favourites from this year are water droplets evaporating (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/water-droplets-peacock-butterfly-wing-scales), a tardigrade riding a worm (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/baby-tardigrade-and-nematode) and a weirdly soothing video (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/crystallization-of-magnesium-sulfate)
I had seen this on another site but it didn't have the information of who took the photos and what it was, thank you for posting that. These are exquisite and a great reminder that the little things in life matter too.
Mother Nature has us beaten hands down, the shapes and colours that are hidden away in tiny form are awesome, even you mould spores!
so interesting ! Thank you so much for this dive into the infinitely small
Nikonsmallworld.com, if you're wondering. They also do videos. My personal favourites from this year are water droplets evaporating (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/water-droplets-peacock-butterfly-wing-scales), a tardigrade riding a worm (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/baby-tardigrade-and-nematode) and a weirdly soothing video (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/crystallization-of-magnesium-sulfate)
I had seen this on another site but it didn't have the information of who took the photos and what it was, thank you for posting that. These are exquisite and a great reminder that the little things in life matter too.
Mother Nature has us beaten hands down, the shapes and colours that are hidden away in tiny form are awesome, even you mould spores!
