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A bee ’s center report in pollen from a dandelion , a colony of bacteria growing inside a shiner ’s intestine , a last - up of a carnivorous flora ’s deadly trap — these are just a few of the gain images from this year ’s Nikon Small World Photomicrography competition . The annual contest offers microscope user from around the world a chance to show off their unbelievable photos of life ’s tiniest wonder . Here are this year ’s winning image : [ show the full taradiddle about the Small World photo contest ]
1st position
Ralph Claus Grimm
Jimboomba , Queensland , Australia
Eye of a honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) cut across in blowball pollen ( 120x ) , Reflected Light
2nd Place
Kristen Earle , Gabriel Billings , KC Huang & Justin Sonnenburg
Stanford University School of Medicine , Department of Microbiology and Immunology , Stanford , California , USA
Mouse El Salvadoran colon colonise with human microbiota ( 63x ) , Confocal
3rd Place
Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
Hughes Medical Institute ( HHMI ) , Janelia Farm Research Campus , Leonardo science laboratory
aspiration of a humped bladderwort ( Utricularia gibba ) , a fresh water carnivorous industrial plant ( 100x ) , Confocal
4th Place
Daniel H. Miller & Ethan S. Sokol
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Department of Biology , Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA
Lab - grown human mammary gland organoid ( 100x ) , Confocal
5th Place
Dr. Giorgio Seano & Dr. Rakesh K. Jain
Harvard Medical School , Massachusetts General Hospital , Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology , Boston , Massachusetts , USA
Live imaging of perfused vasculature in a mouse brain with spongioblastoma , Optical Frequency Domain Imaging System
6th Place
Henri Koskinen
Helsinki , Finland
Spore capsule of a moss ( Bryumsp . ) , Reflected Light
7th Place
Evan Darling
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center , New York , New York , USA
Starfish fancy using confocal microscopy ( 10x ) , Confocal
8th Place
Dr. Tomoko Yamazaki
National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , Bethesda , Maryland , USA
Nerves and blood vessels in a mouse ear skin ( 10x ) , Confocal
9th Place
Dr. Nathanael Prunet
California Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College , Department of Biology , Pasadena , California , USA
Young buds ofArabidopsis(a inflorescence plant life ) ( 40x ) , Confocal
tenth spot
Ian Gardiner
Calgary , Alberta , Canada
Clam prawn ( Cyzicus mexicanus ) , live specimen ( 25x ) , Darkfield , Focus Stacking
11th Place
Rogelio Moreno Gill
Panama , Panama
Fern sorus at varying levels of maturity ( 20x ) , Fluorescence , Image Stacking
12th Place
Hannah Sheppard - Brennand
Southern Cross University , National Marine Science Centre , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia
Developing sea gray mullet ( Mugil cephalus ) embryos ( 40x ) , Brightfield
13th Place
Jose Almodovar
University of Puerto Rico ( UPR ) , Mayaguez Campus , Biology Department , Mayaguez , Puerto Rico , USA
tentacle of a carnivorous industrial plant ( Droserasp . ) ( 20x ) , Image Stacking
14th Place
Viktor Sykora
Charles University , First Faculty of Medicine , Prague , Czech Republic
Australian grass ( Austrostipa nodosa ) seed ( 5x ) , Darkfield
fifteenth Place
Dr. Heiti pave
Tallinn University of Technology , Department of Gene Technology , Tallinn , Estonia
Anther of a flowering plant life ( genus Arabidopsis thaliana ) ( 20x ) , Confocal
sixteenth Place
Charles B. Krebs
Charles Krebs Photography , Issaquah , Washington , USA
Feeding rotifer ( Floscularia ringens ) ( 50x ) , Darkfield
seventeenth billet
Dr. David Maitland
Feltwell , United Kingdom
opprobrious witch - hazel ( Trichodactylus crinitus ) leaf producing crystals to defend against herbivore ( 100x ) , Differential Interference Contrast
eighteenth Place
Roland Gross
Gruenen , Bern , Switzerland
Hairyback louse ( Chaetonotussp . ) and algae ( Micrasteriassp . ) ( 400x ) , Differential Interference Contrast
19th Place
Dr. Richard R. Kirby
Marine Biological Association , Plymouth , United Kingdom
Planktonic larva of a horseshoe worm ( phoronid ) ( 450x ) , Darkfield
twentieth property
Frank Reiser
Nassau Community College , Department of Biology , Garden City , New York , USA
Suction cups on the diving beetle ( Dytiscus sp . ) foreleg ( 50x ) , Image Stacking , Photomerge
Baby computer mouse
Jace Artichoker
Rochester Institute of Technology ( RIT ) , Rochester , New York , USA
Mouse embryo , 10.5 days old , Confocal ( 11x )
Coral fossils
Norm Barker
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , Department of Pathology , Baltimore , Maryland , USA
Red fossil precious coral slab , Reflected Light ( 20x )
Baby peanut louse
Dr. Michael J. Boyle
Smithsonian Marine Station , Life Histories Department , Fort Pierce , Florida , USA
Peanut worm ( Sipuncula ) trochophore larva , 3 days older ( yellowish : cilia ; cyan : DNA ; red : 5-hydroxytryptamine in the anxious system ) , Confocal ( 40x )
Adult leatherneck worm
Michael Crutchley
Pembrokeshire , Wales , United Kingdom
Adult marine worm ( Autolytus ) , Macroscopy ( 30x )
Cancer mobile phone
Dr. Reto Paul Fiolka
UT Southwestern Medical Center , Department of Cell Biology , Dallas , Texas , USA
Mitochondria in a hot HeLa cancer cell , 3D Structured Illumination Microscopy ( 63x )
Stem cells
Cynthia Levinthal
Q Therapeutics , Clinical / Research Department , Salt Lake City , Utah , USA
Human neuronal stem cells , Fluorescence ( 200x )
Mouse fat
Dr. Daniela Malide
National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , National Heart , Lung and Blood Institute , Light Microscopy Core Facility , Bethesda , Maryland , USA
3D reconstruction of mouse brown adipose ( fat ) tissue , Third Harmonic Generation Microscopy ( 40x )
Insect bugs
Mites on dirt ball pupa , Darkfield , Image Stacking ( 20x )
Tadpole parts
Dr. Helen Rankin
University of California , Berkeley , Berkeley , California , USA
TransgenicXenopus laevis(African clawed toad ) tadpole head expressing green neurons , Confocal ( 10x )
Deep ocean chance
Dr. Robert B. Simmons
Briarwillow LLC , Atlanta , Georgia , USA
Foraminifera ( a deep sea microscopic organism ) isolate from a deep sea dredge in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean , Stereomicroscopy ( 4x )
Beetle bits
Dr. Luca Toledano
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona , Verona , Italy
Detail of jewel beetle ( Coleoptera Buprestidae ) , Macroscopy , Image Stacking ( 32x )
plant life bugs
Susan Tremblay
Liverwort ( Lepidolaena taylorii ) plant life showing modified leaves ( urine sac ) , which are often home to aquatic microorganisms such as rotifers , Brightfield ( 100x )
dependency of individual
Arturo Agostino
Reggio Calabria , Italy
Colony of single celled organisms ( Carchesium ciliates ) ( 160x ) , Differential Interference Contrast
Glowing alga
Dr. Kesara Margrét Anamthawat - Jonsson , Andrey N. Gagunashvili & Ólafur S. Andrésson
University of Iceland , Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences , Reykjavik , Iceland
Nostoc , a blue - green alga ( cyanobacteria ) demonstrate cerise autofluorescence of the chlorophyll ( 400x ) , Fluorescence
Muscles
Dr. Konstantin D. Bergmeister , Marion Gröger , Martin Aman , Anna Willensdorfer , Krisztina Manzano - Szalai & Oskar C. Aszmann
Medical University of Vienna , Christian Doppler Laboratory for Restoration of Extremity Function , Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , Depa
Murine biceps muscle stained to show different muscle fiber populations ( 20x ) , Fluorescence
Oh the colors
Christian Bohley
Martin Luther University Halle - Wittenberg , Halle ( Saale ) , Germany
Degenerating Blue Phases ( II ) of 55 % CB15 in E48 ( substance used in manufacture of Liquid Crystal Displays ) ( 100x ) , Polarized Light
yield fly larva
Dr. Maria Boulina , Dr. Akira Chiba & Hasitha Samarajeewa
University of Miami , Miami , Florida , USA
singly colored neurons in a live fruit fly ( Drosophila ) larva , Fluorescence , Confocal
diminutive numbers
Massimo Brizzi
Empoli , Italy
Numerical traces on a DVD / Blu - ray ( 100x ) , Fiber Optic Illumination
computer mouse brains
Dr. Alessio Colombo
DZNE , Munich , Bavaria , Germany
Mouse dorsal root ganglia ( neural plus Schwann cell ) in culture ( 10x ) , Confocal
dinner party prison term
Radula ( feeding structure ) of an aquatic escargot ( Limpet ) ( 40x ) , Darkfield Epi .
Rat nous
Thomas Deerinck
University of California , San Diego , La Jolla , California , USA
Triple - labeled rat cerebellum ( 100x ) , Multiphoton
Mouse eye
Vasculature and glial cell in the optic character level of a mouse retina ( 200x ) , Confocal
Spider parts
Geir Drange
Asker , Norway
Jaws and psyche of a long jawed spider ( Metellinasp . ) ( 10x ) , Reflected Light
Fossils
Dr. Santiago Gomez
University of Cadiz , Cadiz , Spain
Hipparion fossilized bone ( 100x ) , polarise Light
Peace lily pollen
Dr. Marta Guervos
University of Oviedo , University Institute of Oncology of Asturias , Scientific - Technical Facilities / Optical Microscopy Unit , Oviedo , Asturias , Spain
Pollen grains of a peace lily ( Spathiphyllumsp . ) ( 63x ) , Confocal
textile and glue
Gerd - A. Günther
Düsseldorf , Germany
Vilene fabric ( glue drops shown in blue ) ( 80x ) , Brightfield , Fluorescence
lechatelierite
Dr. John Hart
University of Colorado Boulder , Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences , Boulder , Colorado , USA
Resorcinal and methylene blue crystal ( 33x ) , Polarized Light
Sea urchin hide
Dr. Richard Howey
University of Wyoming , Department of Philosophy , Laramie , Wyoming , USA
cutis of a ocean urchin ( Synapta ) containing plates and linchpin composed of chalky ( calcareous ) stuff ( 63x ) , polarize Light
Mouse glossa
Dr. Matthew Kofron & Tayaramma Thatava
Cincinnati Children ’s Hospital Medical Center , Cincinnati , Ohio , USA
Mouse glossa division ( 60x ) , Confocal
Cow lung
Dr. Talley J. Lambert
Harvard Medical School , Department of Cell Biology , Boston , Massachusetts , USA
Cow lung artery cell highlighting the cellular components actin ( bootleg ) , mitochondria ( red ) , and DNA ( blue ) ( 60x ) , 3D - Structured Illumination Microscopy
Vampire moth back talk
Dr. Matthew S. Lehnert
Kent State University at Stark , North Canton , Ohio , USA
Proboscis ( mouthparts ) tip of a vampire moth ( Calyptra thalictri ) . The limited tip and bust hooks ( ruddy ) assist with piercing fruit and mammal tissues for feeding ( 10x ) , Confocal
Honey bee stinger
Harry Leung
Harvard Medical School , Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine , Children ’s Hospital Boston , Boston , Massachusetts , USA
Stinger of a honey bee ( 20x ) , Confocal
float organs
Dr. David Linstead
Bromley , Kent , United Kingdom
Buoyancy organs of a phantom midge ( Chaoborus ) larva ( 125x ) , polarise Light
clayware point
Yvonne ( Yi - Chieh ) Lu
New York , New York , USA
point of ancient Formosan clayware from the Song Dynasty ( 960 - 1126 AD ) ( 4x ) , Macroscopy
Ancient engraving
Howard Lynk
Morehead City , North Carolina , USA
Microengraving on glass from an antique microscope slide created by Washington Teasdale c. 1880 ( 100x ) , Darkfield
Water lily leaf
www.davidmaitland.com , Feltwell , United Kingdom
Leaf cross section of a piddle lily leaf bud ( Nupha lutea ) ( 12.5x ) , Brightfield
Papyrus bundles
Vascular bundles of paper rush ( Cyperus papyrus ) ( 200x ) , Differential Interference Contrast
Cell sectionalisation
Dr. Robert Markus & Dr. Jafar Mahdavi
University of Nottingham , School of Life Sciences , Super Resolution Microscopy Department , Nottingham , United Kingdom
Bacterial DNA and peptide investigation bandage inside bacterium following division ( DNA - YOYO-1 : green pixels for gamy res & purpleness for wide theatre of operations ; Cy5 - investigation : yellow pixels for high res & orange for wide field ) , STORM Super - Resolution Microscopy and Widefield Fluorescence
Bovine heart
Dr. Robert Markus
Bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cell ( 1100x ) , Structured Illumination Microscopy
electrode
Dr. Aleksandar Matkovic
University of Belgrade , Institute of Physics , Center for Solid State Physics and New Materials , Belgrade , Serbia
Gold and atomic number 22 electrodes covered by graphene sheet ( 500x ) , Brightfield
Ostrich fern
Anatoly Mikhaltsov
Omsk , Russia
Transverse plane section of an ostrich fern ( 250x ) , Brightfield
Mouse conceptus
Dr. Tetsuaki Miyake
York University , Department of Biology , Toronto , Ontario , Canada
Cultured mouse conceptus cells ( 100x ) , Confocal Live - Cell Imaging ( Orthogonal Projection of the Z - Stack Images )
Rocks
Douglas Moore
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point , University Relations and Communications , Stevens Point , Wisconsin , USA
Fairburn agate from Black Hills of western South Dakota ( 63x ) , Fiber Optic Illumination
Tiny being
Stentor showing the macronucleus and peristome cilia ( 40x ) , Brightfield
Water flea
Jacek Myslowski
Wloclawek , Kujawsko - Pomorskie , Poland
Alona guttata(water flea ) ( 200x ) , Fluorescence
Stressed cells
Robert Newby
Seton Hall University , Department of Biological Sciences , South Orange , New Jersey , USA
Autofluorescence and viability overlay in zinc stressed cyanobacteriumSynechococcussp . IU 625 . Cells in red are healthy ; yellow are impaired ; and green are dead ( 600x ) , Fluorescence
Sea shells
Caoimhghin Ó Maolagáin
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research , Wellington , New Zealand
A scatter of foraminifera shell from the ocean ( 40x ) , Reflected Light
Garnet and magnetite
Dr. Aaron Palke
Gemological Institute of America , Carlsbad , California , USA
Birefringent andradite garnet with magnetic iron-ore inclusions ( 15x ) , Polarized Light
Rove beetle head
Dr. Joseph Parker
Columbia University , Department of Genetics and Development , New York , New York , USA
Rove mallet head ( Tychobythinussp . ) ( 10x ) , Confocal
Moth wing scale
Donald Parsons
Madison , Wisconsin , USA
Scales on moth wing ( 300x ) , Image Stacking
Tadpole
Katherine Pfister
University of Virginia , Charlottesville , Virginia , USA
Xenopus laevis(frog ) tadpole- ventral view ( 10x ) , Confocal
DNA cell lens nucleus
Kirti Prakash
Institute of Molecular Biology , Mainz , Mainz , Germany
DNA inside cell nucleus , Super - Resolution Microscopy
The changing
Dr. Ariadna Recasens
University of Sydney , Kolling Institute of Medical Research , Sydney , Australia
Micrometamorphosis : from human stem cell to neurons ( 20x ) , Fluorescence
Fungus modeling
Samantha Roberts & Dr. Amy Gladfelter
Dartmouth College , Department of Biological Sciences , Hanover , New Hampshire , USA
Fungus mold ( Ashbya gossypiisp . ) labeled for intracellular structures ( 63x ) , Fluorescence
Photon discharge
Rebecca Saleeb , Robert Henderson & Paul Dalgarno
Heriot - Watt University , Institute of Biological Chemistry , Biophysics and Bionengineering , Edinburgh , United Kingdom
The single photon emission normal of a cell in time , Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging
Ocean trash
Power button of a cellular phone ( collected from ocean bottom near Kefalonia , Greece ) . Features include the remains of encrusting bryozoan and a calcareous tube made by a maritime worm ( 4x ) , Stereomicroscopy
sportfishing net
Plastic component of a drifting fishing mesh ( ghost net ) recovered from the sea ( 5x ) , Stereomicroscopy
manlike moth antenna
Ashburn , Virginia , USA , Hughes Medical Institute ( HHMI ) , Janelia Farm Research Campus , Leonardo Lab
Antenna of a manlike moth ( Anisotasp . ) ( 100x ) , Confocal
Blowfly mouth parts
Raymond Morrison Sloss
Quekett Microscope Club , Banbury , Oxfordshire , United Kingdom
Mouth part ( imposter trachea ) of a Blowfly ( Calliphora vomitoria ) ( 750x ) , Brightfield
Dicot plant root
David Spears
David Spears Imaging , Taunton , Somerset , United Kingdom
ascendent crest section of a dicot plant ( 25.5x ) , Differential Interference Contrast
Mutant cell
Dr. Donna Beer Stolz
University of Pittsburgh , Department of Cell Biology , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , USA
Mutant human alpha-1 antitrypsin aggregates ( blood-red ) exiting the endoplasmic reticulum ( green ) in an information science cell differentiate into a liver cell ( 200x ) , Confocal Reconstruction
Human heftiness
Dr. Tomasz Szul
University of Alabama at Birmingham , Department of Medicine / Pulmonary , Birmingham , Alabama , USA
Cross section of a human muscle tissue revealing ruby blood jail cell ( erythrocytes ) inside a ancestry vessel ( 600x ) , Fluorescence , Confocal
shiner lung
Dr. Shumin Tan
Cornell University , Department of Microbiology and Immunology , Ithaca , New York , USA
Lung tissue from a mouse infect with newsman Mycobacterium TB , orchestrate to fluoresce in response to environmental sourness and chloride concentrations ( 63x ) , Confocal
Twinned crystals
Dr. Ryoji Tanaka
Microphoto Studio " Cat ’s Glove , " Ebina , Kanagawa , Japan
Twinned crystals of 4 , 4'-dibromobiphenyl ( 25x ) , Polarized Light , Retardation Control
experience rotifer
Dr. Bernd Walz
University of Potsdam , Potsdam , Brandenburg , Germany
Living rotifer ( Synchaetasp ) ( 400x ) , Darkfield
Liquid crystal
Dr. Giuliano Zanchetta
University of Milan , Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine , Milan , Italy
grain of a chiral thermotropic liquid watch crystal ( 20x ) , polarise Light
motion-picture show
Teresa Zgoda
Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester , New York , USA
displume photographic film ( Fujifilm ) ( 10x ) , Reflected Light
Suspended particles
Jie Zhang
University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign , Urbana , Illinois , USA
Janus particles ( microparticles ) suspended in water between two see-through electrode ( 40x ) , Brightfield
