PHOTOS: Fluorescent turtle embryo wins forty-fifth annual Nikon Small World Competition
Nikon Instruments Inc. today announced the winners of the forty-fifth annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. First place was awarded to microscopy technician Teresa Zgoda and recent university graduate Teresa Kugler for their visually stunning and painstakingly prepared photo of a turtle embryo. Captured using fluorescence and stereo microscopy, the colorful final image is a masterful example of image-stitching.
Image-stitching is an imaging technique that required the 2019 winning pair to stack and stitch together hundreds of images to create the final image of their turtle. Adding to the challenge was the size and thickness of the turtle embryo. Creating the final image required precision, patience, and deep imaging expertise, as the organism’s size meant only very small parts of the turtle could be imaged on the focal plane at a time.
Both Kugler and Zgoda are passionate micro-photographers, saying microscopy is a hobby that allows them to spend time on their dual passions of science and creative pursuits. Their winning image perfectly exemplifies the blend of science and art Nikon Small World aims to bring to the public each year. Zgoda currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, Kugler in New York.
“Microscopy lets us zoom in on the smallest organisms and building blocks that comprise our world – giving us a profound appreciation for the small things in life that far too often go unnoticed,” said Kugler, “It allows me to do science with a purpose.”
“We are inspired by the beautiful images we see through the microscope,” added Zgoda, “It’s humbling and deeply fulfilling to be able to share that science with other people.”
“The Nikon Small World competition has been bringing stunning scientific images to the public for 45 years now,” said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments, “Our goal has always been to show the world how art and science intersect. As new imaging and microscopy techniques develop over the years, our winners showcase these technology advances more and more creatively. First place this year is no exception.”
Second place was awarded to Nikon Small World veteran Dr. Igor Siwanowicz for his composite image of three single-cell freshwater protozoans, sometimes called "trumpet animalcules.” He used confocal microscopy to capture the detail of the cilia, tiny hairs used by the animals for feeding and locomotion.
In third place is Mr. Daniel Smith Paredes, who placed for his image of a developing American alligator embryo. He snapped this photo at around 20 days of development using immunofluorescence and is studying the development and evolution of vertebrate anatomy.
In addition to the top three winners, Nikon Small World recognized 86 photos out of thousands of entries from scientists and artists across the globe. (Nikon)
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1st Place
Teresa Zgoda & Teresa Kugler
Campbell Hall, New York, USA
Fluorescent turtle embryo Stereomicroscopy, Fluorescence
5x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
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2nd Place
Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Janelia Research Campus Ashburn, Virginia, USA
Depth-color coded projections of three stentors (single-cell freshwater protozoans)
Confocal 40x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
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3rd Place
Daniel Smith Paredes & Dr. Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar
Yale University Department of Geology and Geophysics
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Alligator embryo developing nerves and skeleton
Immunofluorescence 10x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
4th Place
Jan Rosenboom
University Rostock
Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany
Male mosquito
Focus Stacking
6.3x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
5th Place
Caleb Foster
Caleb Foster Photography Jericho, Vermont, USA
Snowflake
Transmitted Light
4x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
6th Place
Javier Rupérez
Almáchar, Málaga, Spain
Small white hair spider
Reflected Light, Image Stacking
20x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
7th Place
Dr. Guillermo López Alicante, Spain
Chinese red carnation stamen
Focus Stacking
3x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
8th Place
Garzon Christian
Quintin, Cotes-d’Armor, France
Frozen water droplet
Incident Light
8x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
9th Place
Andrei Savitsky
Cherkassy, Ukraine
Tulip bud cross section
Reflected Light
1x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
10th Place
Jason M. Kirk
Baylor College of Medicine
Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core
Houston, Texas, USA
BPAE cells in telophase stage of mitosis
Confocal with Enhanced Resolution
63x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
11th Place
Dr. Yujun Chen & Dr. Jocelyn McDonald
Kansas State University, Department of Biology Manhattan, Kansas, USA
A pair of ovaries from an adult Drosophila female stained for F-actin (yellow) and nuclei (green); follicle cells are marked by GFP (magenta)
Confocal
10x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
12th Place
Anne Algar Hounslow,
Middlesex, United Kingdom
Mosquito larva
Darkfield, Polarizing Light, Image Stacking
4x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
13th Place
Dr. Emilio Carabajal Márquez
Madrid, Spain
Cuprite (mineral composed of copper oxide)
Focus Stacking
20x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
14th Place
Antoine Franck
CIRAD - Agricultural Research for Development
Saint Pierre, Réunion
Female Oxyopes dumonti (lynx) spider
Focus Stacking
1x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
15th Place
Marek Miś
Marek Miś Photography
Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland
Pregnant Daphnia magna (small planktonic crustacean)
Modified Darkfield, Polarized Light, Image Stacking
4x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
16th Place
Dr. Razvan Cornel Constantin
Bucharest, Romania
Housefly compound eye pattern
Focus Stacking, Reflected Light
50x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
17th Place
Karl Deckart
Eckental, Bavaria, Germany
Vitamin C Brightfield, Polarized Light
4x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
18th Place
E. Billie Hughes
Lotus Gemology
Bangkok, Thailand
Cristobalite crystal suspended in its quartz mineral host
Darkfield
40x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
19th Place
Martyna Lukoseviciute & Dr. Carrie Albertin
University of Oxford
Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Octopus bimaculoides embryo
Confocal, Image Stitching
5x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
__________________________
20th Place
Simon Merz, Lea Bornemann & Sebastian Korste
University Hospital Essen
Institute for Experimental Immunology & Imaging Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Blood vessels of a murine (mouse) heart following myocardial infarction (heart attack)
Tissue Clearing, Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy
2x (Objective Lens Magnification)
(Photo courtesy of Nikon)
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