Nikon has announced the winners of the 2021 Small World Photomicrography Competition and has once again shared some of the winning and honored images with us. The contest invites photographers and scientists to submit images of all things visible under a microscope. More than 1,900 entries were received from 88 countries in 2021, the 47th year of the competition.
Photographing the Microscopic: Winners of Nikon Small World 2021
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![A close view of a beetle's leg]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Hind leg of a male frog-legged beetle (Sagra buqueti) #
Dr. Andrew Mark Posselt, California -
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![A close view of part of a flower]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Hibiscus anther #
Guillermo López López, Spain -
![A close view of cotton fabric]()
Read more13th Place Winner: Cotton fabric with pollen grains #
Dr. Felice Placenti, Italy -
![A close view of a fly's eye]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Eye of a horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus) #
Oliver Dum, Germany -
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![A close view of a slice of agate]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Fairburn agate #
Douglas L. Moore, Wisconsin -
![A close view of a weevil head]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Gold-dust weevil (Hypomeces squamosus) #
Dr. Rudolf Buechi, Switzerland -
![A close view of strands of bacteria in gelatinous sphere]()
Read more17th Place Winner: Filamentous strands of Nostoc cyanobacteria captured inside a gelatinous matrix #
Martin Kaae Kristiansen, Denmark -
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![Close view of a slice of colorful rock]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Section of Karlsbader Sprudelstein rock #
Dr. Bernardo Cesare and Dr. Markus Neumann, Italy -
![A close view of a red ant's head]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Red forest ant (Formica rufa) #
Dr. Fred Terveer, Netherlands -
![A close view of a sapphire crystal]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Surface texture of a synthetic sapphire crystal with a triangular platinum-crystal contaminant #
Nathan Renfro, California -
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![A close view of a louse's claw]()
Read more3rd Place Winner: Rear leg, claw, and respiratory trachea of a louse (Haematopinus suis) #
Frank Reiser, New York -
![Close view of a crystal of table salt]()
Read more18th Place Winner: Table-salt crystal #
Saulius Gugis, Illinois -
![Close view of butterfly-wing scales]()
Read more10th Place Winner: Vein and scales on a butterfly wing (Morpho didius) #
Sébastien Malo, France -
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![Close view of a gemstone]()
Read more19th Place Winner: Calcite-crystal inclusion suspended in a spinel gemstone #
Billie Hughes, Thailand -
![A close view of the cross section of a root]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Pearl millet crown-root cross section #
Dylan Jones, United Kingdom -
![Close view of a small red mite]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Red velvet mite (Trombidiidae) #
Razvan Cornel Constantin, Romania -
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![Close view of brain-tumor cells]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Human brain-tumor cells labeled with lentivirus #
James Alexander Innes, Sebastian Brandner, and Silvia Marino, United Kingdom -
![Close view of a swimming water flea]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Water flea swimming near a reed stalk #
Álmos Becz, Hungary -
![Close view of a mouse retina]()
Read more11th Place Winner: Vasculature of a mouse retina #
Jason Kirk and Carlos P. Flores Suarez, Texas -
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![A close view of the face of a weevil]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Mango seed weevil (Sternochetus mangiferae) #
Antoine Franck, Reunion -
![Close view of a pollen grain on a flower petal]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Pollen grain on a crocus flower petal #
Charles Krebs, Washington
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