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Weed, brains and spider eyeballs: 20 jaw-dropping snapshots of the microscopic world around us
See the top 20 winning photographs from the 50th Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.
Extremely close-up images of a cannabis plant, spider eyes and a mouse brain are among the winners of the 50th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.
A panel of judges selected 20 winners, shortlisted from around 2,100 entries, for capturing the smallest details in extraordinary clarity.
"Sometimes, we overlook the tiny details of the world around us," Eric Flem, senior manager of CRM and communications at Nikon Instruments, said in a statement shared with Live Science. "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."
Bruno Cisterna and Eric Vitriol, both researchers at the Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at Augusta University in Georgia, won first place with their image of differentiated mouse brain tumor cells — where the cell has developed specialized functions or features. Their image reveals how disruptions in the cell cytoskeleton (which maintains the cell's shape and enables it to carry out essential functions) can lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
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Astronomer-turned-photographer Marcel Clemens was awarded second place for his image of an electrical arc between a pin and a wire, while marijuana photographer Chris Romaine won third place for his image of a cannabis plant leaf.
You can see all 20 winning images below.
The image of differentiated mouse brain tumor cells taken by Bruno Cisterna and Eric Vitriaol won 1st place in the competition.
This image by Marcel Clemens shows an electrical arc between a pin and a wire.
This image, taken by Chris Romaine, shows the leaf of a cannabis plant. The bulbous glands are trichomes — a small hair or growth from the epidermis of a plant — while the purple bubbles contain cannabinoids.
This image, taken by Amy Engevik, shows a section of a small intestine of a mouse.
A close-up of a cluster of octopus eggs taken by Thomas Barlow and Connor Gibbons.
Henri Koskinen's photograph of the slime mold Cribraria cancellata.
A photograph showing the cross section of a leaf from the European beach grass Ammophila arenaria taken by Gerhard Vlcek.
Stephanie Huang's image shows a neuron from the brain of an adult rat.
John-Oliver Dum's photograph shows pollen caught in the web of a garden spider.
The spores of the black truffle Tuber melanosporum taken by Jan Martinek.
Ferenc Halmos' image showing water droplets on slime mold on a rotten twig.
This image, taken by Daniel Knop, shows the wing scales of a butterfly on a medical syringe needle.
Paweł Błachowicz captured the eyes of the green crab sider Diaea dorsata.
Marek Miś' image shows the recrystallized mixture of hydroquinone, a compound that reduces melanin production, and myoinositol, a type of sugar found in the body but also some foods and supplements.
Sébastien Malo's photograph shows the scales of the Madagascan sunset moth wing Chrysiridia ripheus.
Marek Miś also captured an image of two water fleas with embryos and eggs.
Frantisek Bednar's image shows the reproductive organs of the stonewort algae Chara virgata.
An image of an insect egg parasitized by a wasp taken by Alison Pollack.
Allison Pollack also captured this image of a seed of a silene plant.
Bruno Cisterna and Eric Vitriol also entered this image of an early stage mouse glioblastoma.
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Hannah Osborne is the planet Earth and animals editor at Live Science. Prior to Live Science, she worked for several years at Newsweek as the science editor. Before this she was science editor at International Business Times U.K. Hannah holds a master's in journalism from Goldsmith's, University of London.