October 15, 2008
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm20 Winning Pictures: It's a Small, Small, Small, Small World
Have a look at the images that won this year's Nikon Small World contest
By Ivan Oransky
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of serving as one of several judges for the Nikon Small World contest. Our task was to sit in a dimly lit room and try to rank the hundreds of entries—images taken by professional and amateur scientists around the world using visible-light microscopes.
Some were easy: The rules of the contest, which Nikon has run since 1974, forbid images obtained with nonlight microscopes such as electron-based instruments. Any of those that slipped past the contest's initial screens could be discarded.
But most of the choices were very difficult. Even for someone red-green color-blind like me, the beauty of many of these images was, you might say, blindingly obvious. There were lots of diatoms—tiny single-celled algae—sometimes painstakingly arranged to look like common objects. There were also lots of insects, and some brain scans. But there were also rocks and other man-made items that had never been "alive."
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
In this slide show, we present this year's 20 winning pictures, along with captions describing what you're seeing and how the image was obtained.
Slide Show: View Top 20 Winning Photos from the Contest
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
