[imagesource: Zhang Chao / Chinese Academy of Sciences / Nikon Small World]

Each year, the delicate dance between cutting-edge science and breathtaking artistry comes to life in Nikon’s Small World photomicrography competition.

Since its inception in 1975, the contest has celebrated the hidden wonders of nature through the lens of a light microscope, revealing worlds beyond the naked eye.

Both scientists and passionate hobbyists submit their work, all vying for the $3,000 grand prize. This year marks the competition’s 50th anniversary, with an awe-inspiring 2,100 entries from 80 countries across the globe.

“Sometimes, we overlook the tiny details of the world around us,” said Eric Flem, communications manager at Nikon Instruments. “Nikon Small World serves as a reminder to pause, appreciate the power and beauty of the little things, and to cultivate a deeper curiosity to explore and question.”

Whether eerie or ethereal, the images never fail to captivate—and this year’s collection is no exception.

This year’s top prize went to a stunning and groundbreaking image of mouse brain tumour cells, captured by Bruno Cisterna, a faculty member at Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia. The photograph offers a rare glimpse into the intricate architecture of the cell’s cytoskeleton—the microscopic framework and “highways” known as microtubules. Disruptions in these vital structures, as the image reveals, are linked to devastating diseases like Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), offering both scientific insight and visual wonder.

Second place was awarded to Marcel Clemens, an astronomer turned photographer based in Italy. His image shows an electrical arc between a pin and a wire.

This captivating image of a cannabis leaf, taken by Chris Romaine from Port Townsend, Washington, highlights the delicate, hairlike structures known as trichomes. These tiny appendages are adorned with shimmering cannabinoid vesicles—fluid-filled, blister-like bubbles that encapsulate the plant’s potent compounds.

Now marvel at golden bug eggs on a sage leaf:

As well as the autofluorescence in the face of a little two-spotted ladybird, the British and Canadian name for a ladybug:

And this pair of water fleas with embryos, left, and eggs, right:

This focus-stacked composite of 337 exposures at 10x lifesize of a slime mold from California’s Eldorado National Forest is wow:

A slime mould on a rotten twig with water droplets has never been more stunning:

Nor has a mosquito larva:

Or the eyes of a green crab spider:

Who would have thought that a recrystallised mixture of hydroquinone and myoinositol would be so crazy cool:

Okay, now we’re getting a little more freaky with this insect egg parasitised by a wasp. Yes, there is a wasp in there:

This is made up for by this shot of the wing scales of a butterfly on a medical syringe needle:

How is it that this transverse section of the stem of a bracken fern is grimacing?

Ending off on a high note with this electrifying image of the nervous system of a young sea star:

Now go and spot more tiny things to marvel at!

[source:nbcnews]