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Nikon Instruments Inc. today announced the winners of the 42nd annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, awarding first place to Oscar Ruiz, Ph.D. for his microscopic view of the facial development of a four-day-old zebrafish embryo. Fittingly, Nikon unveiled Dr. Ruiz’s zebrafish “selfie” win first on Instagram this morning, giving followers the first look at the winning images. The full winner gallery can now also be viewed on www.nikonsmallworld.com.

Dr. Ruiz brings the world face-to-face with his research on facial development and cellular morphogenesis with his winning image of a four-day-old zebrafish embryo. Dr. Ruiz uses the zebrafish to study genetic mutations that lead to facial abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate in humans in the lab of Dr. George Eisenhoffer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

In addition to Dr. Ruiz, Nikon recognized 76 other winners of the 2016 Small World competition, which is comprised of ranked top twenty winning images, 14 Honorable Mentions and 61 Images of Distinction. Scientists, photographers and hobbyists from 70 countries submitted more than 2,000 entries. Judges selected winners that exemplified artistic quality as well as exceptional scientific technique.

Veteran competitor Douglas Moore of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, received second place for his exquisite and colorful image of a polished slab of Teepee Canyon Agate. The third place image by Rebecca Nutbrown of Oxford, United Kingdom, depicts a culture of neurons derived from human skin cells.

“Whether an image provides a rare glimpse into cutting-edge medical research as we saw from our first place winner, or reveals a fun “too-close-for-comfort” look into the eyes of a spider like one of our Images of Distinction, each evokes a powerful reaction from our judges. Every year we’re looking for that image that makes people lean forward in their seats, sparks their curiosity and leads them to ask new questions,” said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments. “Nearly 100 years of microscopy has paved the way for the evolving technology and innovative techniques that continue to raise the bar of this competition. Congratulations to all of the winners and entrants for their incredible work.”

For those interested in taking their turn in the judge’s seat, the Nikon Small World Popular Vote is continuing through October 25th. Participants can vote daily for their favorite image among all of the finalists.

The judges were intrigued by Ruiz’s innovative techniques to capture time-lapse images of the developing zebrafish face. Using the time-lapse as a guide, Ruiz is creating an atlas of the development of the zebrafish face. His group is tracking physical landmarks throughout development to create a series of metrics that can be used to accurately describe the cellular movements that occur during the normal development of the face. These metrics can then be used to identify abnormalities in the development of zebrafish harboring specific genetic mutations identified in human patients. He hopes that these findings will help provide insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are altered in patients with facial deformities.

“Until now, these facial abnormalities had not been extensively studied in a live context where you can see what’s happening during development in real-time," said Ruiz. “Using a live-imaging approach means we can better understand and pinpoint exactly how and why these developmental abnormalities occur. The first step is knowing how it happens, then we can figure out how to fix it.”

Top Five Images:

1.Dr. Oscar Ruiz, Four-day-old zebrafish embryo

2.Douglas Moore, Polished slab of Teepee Canyon Agate

3.Rebecca Nutbrown, Culture of neurons derived from human skin cells

4.Jochen Schroeder, Butterfly proboscis

5.Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Front foot (tarsus) of a male diving beetle

This year’s remarkable roster of judges once again included a combination of distinguished names in the scientific community, science journalism, imaging and video production. The 2016 panel includes:

•Eric Clark: Research Coordinator and Applications Developer at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University.

•Dr. Joe Hanson: Biologist, science writer, and the creator and host of PBS Digital Studios’ science education show “It’s Okay To Be Smart.”

•Rachel Link: Producer for National Geographic curating content for the publication’s Short Film Showcase.

•Dr. Brian J. Mitchell: Associate Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

•Dr. Clare Waterman: National Institute of Health (NIH) Distinguished Investigator at the Laboratory of Cell and Tissue Morphodynamics.

Top images from the 2016 Nikon Small World Competition will be exhibited in a full-color calendar and through a national museum tour. For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter (@NikonSmallWorld) and Instagram (@NikonInstruments).

Nikon Small World In Motion

The celebration of science and art under the microscope continues with another Nikon Small World unveiling still around the corner—this time in the form of video. Nikon will first reveal the winners of its sister competition, Nikon Small World in Motion, via Instagram (@NikonInstruments) on December 7, 2016.

THE OFFICIAL 2016 NIKON SMALL WORLD WINNERS

The following are the Top 20 and Honorable Mentions for Nikon Small World 2016. The full gallery of winning images, along with Images of Distinction can be viewed at www.nikonsmallworld.com.

1st Place

Dr. Oscar Ruiz

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas, USA

Four-day-old zebrafish embryo

Confocal

10x

2nd Place

Douglas L. Moore

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Museum of Natural History

Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA

Polished slab of Teepee Canyon agate

Stereomicroscopy

90x

3rd Place

Rebecca Nutbrown

University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences

Oxford, United Kingdom

Culture of neurons (stained green) derived from human skin cells, and Schwann cells, a second type of brain cell (stained red)

Confocal/Immunofluorescence/iPSCs

20x

4th Place

Jochen Schroeder

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Butterfly proboscis

Image Stacking

6.3x

5th Place

Dr. Igor Siwanowicz

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus

Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Front foot (tarsus) of a male diving beetle

Confocal

100x

6th Place

Marek Mis

Marek Mis Photography

Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland

Air bubbles formed from melted ascorbic acid crystals

Polarized Light

50x

7th Place

Dr. David Maitland

www.davidmaitland.com

Feltwell, United Kingdom

Leaves of Selaginella (lesser club moss)

Differential Interference Contrast

40x

8th Place

Samuel Silberman

Yehud-Monosson, Israel

Wildflower stamens

Fiber Optic Illumination

40x

9th Place

Vin Kitayama and Sanae Kitayama

Vinsanchi Art Museum Azumino

Azumino, Nagano, Japan

Espresso coffee crystals

Polarized Light

10th Place

Rogelio Moreno Gill

Panama, Panama

Frontonia (showing ingested food, cilia, mouthand trichocysts)

Differential Interference Contrast

200x

11th Place

Francis Sneyers

Brecht, Belgium

Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta)

Macroscopy

10x

12th Place

Dr. Dylan Burnette

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Human HeLa cell undergoing cell division (cytokinesis). DNA (yellow), myosin II (blue) and actin filaments (red)

Structured Illumination

60x

13th Place

Walter Piorkowski

South Beloit, Illinois, USA

Poison fangs of a centipede (Lithobius erythrocephalus)

Fiber Optic Illumination/Image Stacking

16x

14th Place

Dr. Keunyoung Kim

University of California, San Diego, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR)

La Jolla, California, USA

Mouse retinal ganglion cells

Fluorescence/Confocal

40x

15th Place

Geir Drange

Asker, Norway

Head section of an orange ladybird (Halyzia sedecimguttata)

Reflected Light/Focus Stacking

10x

16th Place

Stefano Barone

Diatom Shop

Palazzo Pignano, Italy

65 fossil Radiolarians (zooplankton) carefully arranged by hand in Victorian style

Darkfield

100x

17th Place

Jose Almodovar

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, Biology Department

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

Slime mold (Mixomicete)

Image Stacking/Reflected Light

5x

18th Place

Pia Scanlon

Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, Biosecurity and Regulation - Pest Diagnostics

South Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Parts of wing-cover (elytron), abdominal segments and hind leg of a broad-shouldered leaf beetle (Oreina cacaliae)

Stereomicroscopy, Image Stacking

40x

19th Place

Dr. Gist F. Croft, Lauren Pietilla, Stephanie Tse, Dr. Szilvia Galgoczi, Maria Fenner, Dr. Ali H. Brivanlou

Rockefeller University, Brivanlou Laboratory

New York, New York, USA

Human neural rosette primordial brain cells, differentiated from embryonic stem cells

Confocal

10x

20th Place

Michael Crutchley

Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom

Cow dung

Darkfield

30x

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Dr. Leonardo Andrade

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Zebrafish fin with cylindrical bone segments and rows of pigmented epithelial cells

Differential Interference Contrast

50x

Evan Darling

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, New York, USA

Scales of a butterfly wing

Confocal

10x

Dr. Keunyoung Kim

University of California, San Diego, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR)

La Jolla, California, USA

Retinal ganglion cells in the whole-mounted mouse retina

Fluorescence/Confocal

20x

Charles Krebs

Charles Krebs Photography

Issaquah, Washington, USA

Tail of a small shrimp

Reflected Light

40x

Hei Ming Lai and Dr. Wutian Wu

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, China

Dentate gyrus of an optically-cleared transgenic mouse brain in 3D

Confocal

10x

David Millard

Austin, Texas, USA

Seeds of an Indian Paintbrush wildflower (Castilleja indivisa)

Fiber Optic Illumination/ Image Stacking

4x

David Millard

Austin, Texas, USA

Curvepod Fumewort (Corydalis curvisiliqua) seed

Image Stacking

4.5x

Marek Mis

Marek Mis Photography

Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland

Caudal gill of a dragonfly larva

Polarized Light, Darkfield

25x

Marek Mis

Marek Mis Photography

Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland

Leg of a water boatman (Corixidae)

Polarized Light, Darkfield

25x

Jacek Myslowski

Wloclawek, Poland

Micrasterias thomasiana (algae)

Fluorescence

400x

Samuel Silberman

Yehud-Monosson, Israel

Wildflower stamens

Fiber Optic Illumination

40x

Dr. Igor Siwanowicz

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus

Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Interior of a bisected trap of a humped bladderwort (Urticularia gibba), a fresh water carnivorous plant

Confocal

100x

Dr. Igor Siwanowicz

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus

Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Gears coupling hind legs of a planthopper nymph

Confocal

250x

Wim van Egmond

Micropolitan Museum

Berkel en Rodenrijs, Netherlands

Trumpet animalcule containing endosymbionts

Darkfield

160x

About Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography. Participants may submit their images in traditional 35mm format, or upload digital images 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 2016 Small World Competition may also be downloaded from www.nikonsmallworld.com.