Under the microscope: Nikon Small World photomicrography 2024 – in pictures
Spider eyes, butterfly wing scales, truffle spores and slime mould come under the spotlight in the 50th anniversary of the Nikon Small World photomicrography competition. The award celebrates photography through the light microscope, capturing the breathtaking beauty of a world hidden from the naked eye
· the GuardianFirst place
Differentiated mouse brain tumor cells (actin, microtubules and nuclei).
Photograph: Dr Bruno Cisterna and Dr Eric Vitriol/Nikon Small World
Second place
Image stacking for the pin and wire combined with long exposure for the electrical arcs.
Photograph: Dr Marcel Clemens/Nikon Small World
Third place
Leaf of a cannabis plant. The bulbous glands are trichomes. The bubbles inside are cannabinoid vesicles.
Photograph: Chris Romaine/Nikon Small World
Fourth place
Section of a small intestine of a mouse.
Photograph: Dr Amy Engevik/Nikon Small World
Fifth place
A cluster of octopus eggs.
Photograph: Thomas Barlow & Connor Gibbons/Nikon Small World
Sixth place
Slime mould (Cribraria cancellata).
Photograph: Henri Koskinen/Nikon Small World
Seventh place
Cross-section of European beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) leaf.
Photograph: Gerhard Vlcek/Nikon Small World
Eighth place
A neuron densely covered in dendritic spines from the striatum of an adult rat brain.
Photograph: Stephanie Huang/Nikon Small World
Ninth place
Pollen in the web of a garden spider (Araneus).
Photograph: John-Oliver Dum/Nikon Small World
Tenth place
Spores of black truffle (Tuber melanosporum).
Photograph: Jan Martinek/Nikon Small World
Eleventh place
Slime mould on a rotten twig with water droplets.
Photograph: Dr Ferenc Halmos/Nikon Small World
Twelfth place
Wing scales of a butterfly (Papilio ulysses) on a medical syringe.
Photograph: Daniel Knop/Nikon Small World
Thirteenth place
Eyes of green crab spider (Diaea dorsata).
Photograph: Paweł Błachowicz/Nikon Small World
Fourteenth place
Recrystallised mixture of hydroquinone and myoinositol.
Photograph: Marek Miś/Nikon Small World
Fifteenth place
Isolated scales on Madagascan sunset moth wing (Chrysiridia rhipheus).
Photograph: Sébastien Malo/Nikon Small World
Sixteenth place
Two water fleas (Daphnia) with embryos (left) and eggs (right).
Photograph: Marek Miś/Nikon Small World
Seventeenth place
Stonewort algae (Chara virgata).
Photograph: Frantisek Bednar/Nikon Small World
Eighteenth place
An insect egg parasitised by a wasp.
Photograph: Alison K Pollack/Nikon Small World
Nineteenth place
Seed of a silene plant.
Photograph: Alison K Pollack/Nikon Small World
Twentieth place
Early stage of mouse glioblastoma cell differentiation.
Photograph: Dr. Bruno Cisterna & Dr. Eric Vitriol/Nikon Small World