25 Images That Won At The 2024 Nikon Small World Competition

The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition celebrated its 50th year by focusing on the beauty and science behind the smallest details of our world. Every year, scientists and artists from around the world show their submissions of unique perspectives on life through microscopic images.  This year’s finalists gave us fascinating insights with their material and the winning image was awarded to Dr. Bruno Cisterna for his incredible image of mouse brain tumor cells. Scroll below to see it and other mesmerizing images that were submitted in the competition.  More info: nikonsmallworld.com | Instagram | Facebook | x.com

#1 Image Of Distinction - Zhang Chao

Image source: Nikon Small World National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China "Beach sand."

#2 Honorable Mention - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

Image source: Nikon Small World Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus Ashburn, Virginia, USA "Antenna of a mole crab."

#3 5th Place - Thomas Barlow And Connor Gibbons

Image source: Nikon Small World Columbia University Department of Neurobiology and Behavior New York, New York, USA "Cluster of octopus (Octopus hummelincki) eggs."

#4 2nd Place - Dr. Marcel Clemens

Image source: Nikon Small World Verona, Veneto, Italy "Electrical arc between a pin and a wire."

#5 9th Place - John-Oliver Dum

Image source: Nikon Small World Medienbunker Produktion Bendorf, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany "Pollen in a garden spider (Araneus) web."

#6 Image Of Distinction - Dr. Laurent Formery And Dr. Nathaniel Clarke

Image source: Nikon Small World Stanford University Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Pacific Grove, California, USA "Nervous system of a young sea star."

#7 Image Of Distinction - Ted Kinsman

Image source: Nikon Small World Rochester Institute of Technology Photosciences Department Rochester, New York, USA "A common house cat claw."

#8 Honorable Mention - Dr. Bruce Douglas Taubert

Image source: Nikon Small World Glendale, Arizona, USA "Ocelli between the compound eyes of a yellow jacket."

#9 Honorable Mention - Daniel Evrard

Image source: Nikon Small World Aywaille, Liege, Belgium "Vinyl player needle on scratched vinyl disk."

#10 11th Place - Dr. Ferenc Halmos

Image source: Nikon Small World Bánd, Veszprém, Hungary "Slime mold on a rotten twig with water droplets."

#11 12th Place - Daniel Knop

Image source: Nikon Small World Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany "Wing scales of a butterfly (Papilio ulysses) on a medical syringe needle."

#12 Image Of Distinction - Uwe Lange

Image source: Nikon Small World Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany "Pollen on the compound eyes of a fly."

#13 Honorable Mention - Jochen Stern

Image source: Nikon Small World Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany "Golden bug eggs on a sage leaf."

#14 Image Of Distinction - Elkhan Yusifov And Dr. Martina Schaettin

Image source: Nikon Small World University of Zurich Department of Molecular Life Sciences Zurich, Switzerland "Developing nervous system in the eye of a 7-day-old chick embryo."

#15 7th Place - Gerhard Vlcek

Image source: Nikon Small World Maria Enzersdorf, Austria "Cross section of European beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) leaf."

#16 Image Of Distinction - Timothy Boomer

Image source: Nikon Small World Vacaville, California, USA "Slime mold (Prototrichia metallica)."

#17 3rd Place - Chris Romaine

Image source: Nikon Small World Port Townsend, Washington, USA "Leaf of a cannabis plant. The bulbous glands are trichomes. The bubbles inside are cannabinoid vesicles."

#18 Honorable Mention - Randy Fullbright

Image source: Nikon Small World Vernal, Utah, USA "Agatized dinosaur bone."

#19 6th Place - Henri Koskinen

Image source: Nikon Small World Helsinki University Helsinki, Uudenmaan lääni, Finland "Slime mold (Cribraria cancellata)."

#20 Image Of Distinction - Jacek Myslowski

Image source: Nikon Small World Wloclawek, Kujawko-Pomorskie, Poland "Water mite (Arrenurus)."

#21 Image Of Distinction - Dr. Håkan Kvarnström

Image source: Nikon Small World Bromma, Sweden "Peacock plume feather."

#22 13th Place - Paweł Błachowicz

Image source: Nikon Small World Bedlno, Świętokrzyskie, Poland "Eyes of green crab spider (Diaea dorsata)."

#23 Image Of Distinction - Thomas Neumann

Image source: Nikon Small World Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany "Ink dot on Japanese washi paper."

#24 Image Of Distinction - Joshua Coogler

Image source: Nikon Small World Dallas, North Carolina, USA "Moss sporophyte with spores (green)."

#25 16th Place - Marek Miś

Image source: Nikon Small World Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland "Two water fleas (Daphnia sp.) with embryos (left) and eggs (right)."