The 2023 first place image showcases a debilitating and prevalent complication of diabetes MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nikon Instruments Inc. today unveiled the winners of the 49th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. This year's first place prize was awarded to Hassanain Qambari, assisted by Jayden Dickson of the Lions Eye Institute, for his vivid image of a rodent optic nerve head showing astrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red), and retinal vasculature (green). The colorful image provides an important contribution to the study and reversal of diabetic retinopathy, which affects one in five persons with diabetes worldwide.1 Nikon Small World (PRNewsfoto/Nikon Instruments Inc.)
Rodent optic nerve head showing astrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red) and retinal vasculature (green)
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood sugar damages the blood vessels in the tissue at the back of the eye, known as the retina. The damaged blood vessels can swell and leak, which can cause blurry vision or total loss of eyesight. Since 2021, Qambari has devoted his time and research to the early detection and reversal of the disease. "Current diagnostic criteria and treatment regimens for diabetic retinopathy are limited to the late-stage appearance of the disease, with irreversible damage to retinal microvasculature and function," said Qambari. "The visual system is a complex and highly specialized organ, with even relatively minor perturbations to the retinal circulation able to cause devastating vision loss. I entered the competition as a way to showcase the complexity of retinal microcirculation." Qambari faced some challenges when capturing his image such as locating fine vessels near 110 microns in diameter and establishing a protocol for labeling different cell types. "Over the past 20 years, our research group has refined the technique of isolated ocular perfusion labeling for fine vessels in the eye," said Qambari. "While the ophthalmic artery in the rodent model presented a technically demanding challenge, we were able to overcome it with persistence and patience."
The final result educates the public about the universal condition affecting millions and the vital research necessary to further advance care. "The Nikon Small World competition is great, as it showcases amazing work across many disciplines from around the world," said Qambari. "All the images presented in the competition represent the beauty and artistic side of science which may otherwise get overlooked. Such a competition not only celebrates the participant's hard work and passion but may also draw and inspire young scientists to pursue a career in STEM. It certainly inspired me."
Like Qambari, Eric Flem, Senior Manager, CRM and Communications at Nikon Instruments, is passionate about sharing exemplary scientific work and artistic techniques. "The past 49 years of this competition have borne witness to many innovative and pioneering advancements in scientific imaging technology," said Flem. "I am consistently awed by how these advancements make it possible to create art out of science for the public to enjoy." Second place was awarded to Ole Bielfeldt for his image of a matchstick igniting by the friction surface of the box. The image was taken within one eight-thousands of a second and utilized imaging stacking.
Third place was awarded to Malgorzata Lisowska for her image of breast cancer cells. In addition to the top three winners, Nikon Small World recognized 83 photos out of thousands of entries from scientists and artists across the globe.
The 2023 judging panel included:
Ed Cara, Science and Health Reporter at Gizmodo
James Cutmore, Picture Editor at BBC Science Focus Magazine
For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter @NikonSmallWorld and Instagram @NikonInstruments.
NIKON SMALL WORLD WINNERS
Hassanain Qambari & Jayden Dickson
Department of Physiology & Pharmacology
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Rodent optic nerve head showing astrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red) and retinal vasculature (green)
Confocal, Fluorescence, Image Stacking
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Matchstick igniting by the friction surface of the box.
Brightfield, Image Stacking
2.5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Independent Value Based Healthcare Consultant
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
Brightfield, Image Stacking
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Bendorf, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Venomous fangs of a small tarantula
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Feltwell, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Auto-fluorescing defensive hairs covering the leaf surface of Eleagnus angustifolia exposed to UV light
Fluorescence, Image Stacking
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Vacaville, California, USA
Slime mold (Comatricha nigra) showing capillitial fibers through its translucent peridium
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel Milinkovitch
Department of Genetics and Evolution
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
25X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Cytoskeleton of a dividing myoblast; tubulin (cyan), F-actin (orange) and nucleus (magenta) Fluorescence, Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM)
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Melinda Beccari & Dr. Don W. Cleveland
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
La Jolla, California, USA
Motor neurons grown in microfluidic device for separation of cell bodies (top) and axons (bottom). Green - microtubules; Red - growth cones (actin).
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Real Sociedad Española de Física
25X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Tanta, Egypt, Arab Republic
"Cuckoo wasp" standing on a flower
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Satu Paavonsalo & Dr. Sinem Karaman
Blood and lymphatic vasculatures in the ear skin of an adult mouse
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Bendorf, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Sunflower pollen on an acupuncture needle
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California, USA
Fluorescent image of an Acropora sp. showing individual polyps with symbiotic zooxanthellae
Darkfield, Fluorescence, Image Stacking
5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Real Sociedad Española de Física
30X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Chinese moon moth (Actias ningpoana) wing scales
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
A cryptocrystalline micrometeorite resting on a #80 testing sieve.
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
Stomata in peace lily (Spathiphyllum sp.) leaf epidermis
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Daniel Castranova & Dr. Brant Weinstein
Adult transgenic zebrafish head showing blood vessels (blue), lymphatic vessels (yellow), and the skin and scales (magenta)
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Arthur Chien & Dr. Ann Na Cho
Organ-on-chip system enabling the synaptic conjugation between 3D human embryonic stem cells
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Regenerative Medicine & Cell Biology
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Neonatal mouse intestinal tissue cells
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Bellevue, Washington, USA
Trichinella cyst in pork muscle (Trichinella is a parasitic worm known to cause trichinosis) Brightfield, Image Stacking
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Carpenter bee (Xylocopa violacea) head and antenna
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Division of Transplant Surgery
Mill Valley, California, USA
Underside of cellar spider (Pholcus phalangioides)
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel Milinkovitch
Department of Genetics and Evolution
Dermal collagen in embryonic snake scales
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Biochemistry
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sphagnum moss with two air bubbles on the sample
Fluorescence, Image Stacking
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis) in the retina from a Lifeact-EGFP newborn mouse
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Raghuram Annadana Photography
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Developing stamen and stigma inside a Hibiscus flower bud
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Vestec, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic
Fluorescent actin filaments (yellow) and fluorescent anillin protein (blue) deposited on a glass coverslip after dewetting 60X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Image Stacking, Reflected Light
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Svosov, Zilinsky, Slovak Republic
Slime mold (Trichia crateriformis)
5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Gustometry + SF Micro Society
Norwalk, Connecticut, USA
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Vacaville, California, USA
Slime mold (Didymium sp.) fruiting bodies
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Michael John Bridge & Michael Sieverts
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Mouse femur bone lacunar-canalicular network (voids in bone that house osteocytes and their interconnected micro-tubular processes)
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Arturo Calderón, Dr. Miguel Tapia-Rodríguez & Dr. Juan Pedro Laclette
Muscle architecture of an evaginating tapeworm (Taenia crassiceps cysticercus)
Confocal, Fluorescence, Image Stacking
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Chen-Hui Chen's Lab in the Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology
Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan
In toto image of the skin and mucous cells in a live zebrafish larva
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Stereomicroscopy, Reflected Light, Focus Stacking
0.5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Nikky Corthout & Alex Calzoni
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
Retrograde labeled neurons in the cortex of a cortical mouse brain section
Image Stacking, Fluorescence, Confocal
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Bendorf, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Brightfield, Image Stacking
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Maturing mouse cortical neuron in culture
Confocal, Deconvolution, Fluorescence
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Ricardo Roberto Fernández Martínez
Department of Biology and Geology
Tail of planktonic shrimp larvae
17X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Konz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Marine organism (Pyrocystis lunula, Dinophyceae)
Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)
100X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Clam shrimp (Lynceus mucronatus)
Reflected Light, Focus Stacking
2.5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Saikat Ghosh & Dr. Juan S. Bonifacino
iPSC-derived human neurons
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
Berkeley, California, USA
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Daniel B. Hoffman & Dr. Jacob Sorensen
Department of Kinesiology
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Rat skeletal muscle fibers with associated neuromuscular junctions (white)
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Hema Saranya Ilamathi
Department of Medical biology
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada
Distribution of cellular batteries (mitochondria-yellow), along the transport cables (Tubulin-red, actin-cyan) in human fibroblast 63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Komarechka Photography Ltd.
Ravna Gora, Varna, Bulgaria
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Charles Krebs Photography
Issaquah, Washington, USA
Feeding bryozoan colony zooids. Bryozoans are microscopic aquatic invertebrates that live in colonies.
5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Charles Krebs Photography
Issaquah, Washington, USA
Mushroom gills showing sporophores (sporangiophores)
Darkfield, Image Stacking
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)
60X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Weissensberg, Bavaria, Germany
60X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez
Non-parenchymal liver cells
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Composition of transverse sections of plant organs
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California, USA
Coral (Acropora granulosa) fluorescing under blue light
Image Stacking, Fluorescence, Darkfield
5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Chen-Hui Chen's Lab in the Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology
25X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)
40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Feltwell, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Wing scales of the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) under ultraviolet light (UV)
Fluorescence, Image Stacking
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Saint Lys, Haute-Garonne, France
Crab spider (Thomisus onustus)
Darkfield, Image Stacking, Reflected Light
6.3X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Saint Lys, Haute-Garonne, France
Geranium (Geraniaceae) stamen covered in pollen
Darkfield, Image Stacking, Reflected Light
6.3X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Higher Education Department Jammu and Kashmir India
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Phoretic mites on the leg of a bumblebee
3X (Objective Lens Magnification)
School of Life Sciences Imaging (SLIM)
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Actin cytoskeleton of bovine pulmonary epithelial cells
Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM)
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Simon Frederik Merz, Dr. Lea Bornemann & Dr. Ewa Patrycja Smajek
Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany
Fly (cyan) caught in a Venus flytrap (red)
Fluorescence, Light Sheet
2.4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
Leaf epidermis stomata (Stromanthe sp.)
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Mechanosensors in a Venus flytrap
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Biology Science and Biotechnology
Bangi, Selangot, Malaysia
2X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Embryonic mouse (Mus musculus) kidney showing the collecting duct (blue) and nephron progenitor (yellow) cells
5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
TCDD Teknik Müh. Müş. A.Ş.
3.7X (Objective Lens Magnification)
San Anselmo, California, USA
Slime mold (Craterium leucocephalum), looking like a beautiful tiny goblet
Image Stacking, Reflected Light
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
San Anselmo, California, USA
Slime mold (Diderma tigrinum)
Image Stacking, Reflected Light
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Division of Transplant Surgery
Mill Valley, California, USA
Blue black weevil (Metapocyrtus sp.)
6X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Garden City, New York, USA
Ostracods and algae (Cladophora)
Darkfield, Reflected Light
2.5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Colin Rogers & Dr. Erica Weekman
Sanders Brown Center on Aging
Mouse retina blood vessels (green) astrocytes (red) and microglia (purple)
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany
Diatoms (single-celled algae) arranged on the head of a pin
Image Stacking, Reflected Light
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Valley Village, California, USA
Reflected Light, Darkfield
6X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology (IGP)
Blood and lymphatic vessels in a mouse diaphragm
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Bindweed (Convolvulus) leaf epidermal cells autofluorescing
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Patterns at the surface of an embryonic leaf of Thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana)
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Stephen Vidman & Dr. Andrea Tedeschi
Department of Neuroscience
3D capillary network section of the mammalian brain (dentate gyrus of the hippocampus)
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Priscilla Vieto Bonilla & Brandon Antonio Segura Torres
Department of Biological Sciences
San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
One-week-old Axolotl after hatching
Image Stacking, Stereomicroscopy
25X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Impressions Microscopiques
Amsterdam, Noord Holland, Netherlands
Crystals of malonic acid dissolved in ethanol
4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Hefei, Anhui Province, China
Bristle of a millipede (Polyxenidae)
50X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Biological Imaging Facility
Lily (Lilium) anther cross section with pollen
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Biological Imaging Facility
Lily (Lilium) anther cross section with pollen
20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
About Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition The Nikon Small World Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography or video. In 2024, the competition will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Ahead of the celebration, participants may upload digital images and videos directly at www.nikonsmallworld.com. For additional information, contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, USA, or phone (631) 547-8569. Entry forms for Nikon's 2024 Small World and Small World in Motion Competitions are available at https://enter.nikonsmallworld.com/ About Nikon Instruments Inc.
Nikon Instruments Inc. is the US microscopy arm of Nikon Healthcare, a world leader in the development and manufacture of optical and digital imaging technology for biomedical applications. For more information, visit https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/ or contact us at 1-800-52-NIKON.
1 Global Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy and Projection of Burden through 2045: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Teo Z.L., Tham Y.-C., Yu M., Chee M.L., Rim T.H., Cheung N., Bikbov M.M., (...), Cheng C.-Y.
(2021) Ophthalmology, 128 (11) , pp. 1580-1591.
SOURCE Nikon Instruments Inc.