Winning video from Dr. Ning Xu shows the importance of advanced microscopy in diagnosis of diseases defined by movement

MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nikon Instruments Inc. today unveiled the winners of its 16th annual Nikon Small World in Motion video competition, an integral component of the Nikon Small World competition and a showcase of the world’s most dynamic microscopic imagery. The first-place prize was awarded to Dr. Ning Xu for his video showing abnormal beating of airway cilia in a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a rare genetic disorder affecting respiratory function. Captured with diffractive super-resolution microscopy, the video shows how motion can reveal important biological details that still images alone cannot fully capture.

Xu is a researcher in optical engineering who develops advanced imaging systems that help scientists observe cellular structures in motion. His winning video focuses on cilia, the tiny hair-like structures that line the airways and beat in coordinated waves to move mucus and debris out of the lungs. In people with PCD, those cilia can beat abnormally, making it difficult for the airways to clear themselves and contributing to recurrent respiratory infections. By capturing that movement in a patient-derived sample, Xu’s video offers a powerful view of a process essential to understanding and diagnosing the disease.

“To understand this disease, you need to watch the cilia through dozens of beat cycles, not just a still image,” Xu explained.

Recording living airway cilia at the level Xu wanted to see posed a significant imaging challenge. The structures are extremely small, their movement is rapid, and the sample must remain alive and behave naturally during imaging. Many advanced microscopy techniques rely on fluorescent labels or intense illumination, but those approaches can alter or damage living cells. Xu and his collaborators instead focused on controlling the light itself, using multiple light waves and a digital micromirror device to precisely shape illumination, capture rapid movement at high resolution, and minimize the light reaching the sample.

“For over 50 years, Nikon Small World has repeated one simple message: science is beautiful,” Xu said. “And Small World in Motion has a second message that I’m even more passionate about: Life is not a still picture. Life moves.”

“Dr. Ning Xu’s winning video exemplifies why we introduced the video component of this competition 16 years ago: It allows us to use motion to transform our understanding of the microscopic world,” said Eric Flem, senior manager, communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments. “Xu’s work, and the work of all our winners, reflects the competition’s enduring purpose to inspire wonder, fuel discovery, and showcase the artistry inherent in scientific exploration.”

Xu said the winning video also reflects the role microscopy can play in scientific communication. While much of his work is ultimately presented through scientific papers, the movement of cilia gives viewers an immediate way to understand that something important is happening at a scale they cannot see unaided.

“When people watch cilia beating, they immediately understand that something beautiful and important is happening inside us,” Xu said. “I think this competition turns microscopy into a shared language.”

Second place was awarded to Nguyen Nam Nhat for his video of a tiny roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus exploring their microscopic world.

Third place was awarded to Benedikt Pleyer for his video of jellyfish larvae suspended in water droplets.

The 2026 Judging Panel included:

• Joe Dragavon, Ph.D., Director of the BioFrontiers Institute’s Advanced Light Microscopy Core and Director of Core Facilities and Shared Instrumentation at the University of Colorado Boulder
• Quinten Geldhof, Technical designer at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts
• Corey S. Powell, Award-winning science writer, editor, and communicator
• Meredith Sagolla, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Advanced Light Microscopy and Electron Microscopy (CALM-EM) at Genentech

For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter @NikonSmallWorld and Instagram @NikonInstruments.

NIKON SMALL WORLD IN MOTION WINNERS

1st Place

Dr. Ning Xu

Tsinghua University

Beijing, Beijing, China

Abnormal beating of airway cilia from a child with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), a genetic disorder affecting respiratory function.

Diffractive Super-Resolution Microscopy

100X (Objective Lens Magnification)

2nd Place

Nguyen Nam Nhat

Nguyen Nam OME

Chu Se, Gia Lai, Vietnam

A tiny roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus explore their microscopic world

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)

40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

3rd Place

Benedikt Pleyer

Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany

Jellyfish larvae suspended in water droplets

Darkfield

25X (Objective Lens Magnification)

4th Place

Dr. Andrew Moore

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Janelia Research Campus

Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Synchronized cell division in neighboring cells

Confocal

63X (Objective Lens Magnification)

5th Place

Dr. Patrick Hickey

HYPHA RESEARCH LIMITED

EDINBURGH, MIDLOTHIAN, United Kingdom

Dynamics of mitochondria (green) and chloroplasts (red) in Turtle Vine leaf cells  (Callisia repens)

Confocal

40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Igor Adameyko

Medical University of Vienna

Center for Brain Research

Vienna, Vienna region, Austria

A tiny, colorful sea slug (Cyerce kikutarobabai) on the move

Darkfield

0.9X (variable zoom up to 40X with objective 10X lens) (Objective Lens Magnification)

Igor Adameyko

Medical University of Vienna

Center for Brain Research

Vienna, Vienna region, Austria

A tiny larval common starfish drifting through the water

Darkfield

0.9X (variable zoom up to 40X with objective 10X lens) (Objective Lens Magnification)

Osama Al-Kayyali & Mr. Sriram Metta, Dr. Hyeongyun Cha

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, New York, USA

Vapor pressure build-up and rupture of crystallizing saltwater droplets

Transmitted Light

2X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Dylan T. Burnette & Ms. Emma Koory

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Cell and Developmental Biology

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Sarcomere formation in a heart muscle cell

Confocal

100X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Luis Carlos Cesteros

Durango, Bizkaia, Spain

A live nematode visible after ingestion by larger nematode

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)

40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Bruno Cisterna & Halli Lindamood, Dr. Eric Vitriol

Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine

Augusta, Georgia, USA

Mouse neuronal cells showing their actin cytoskeleton and lysosomes

Confocal

100X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Alfred Drummond-Herdman

Independent

Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom

Dung cannon (Pilobolus sp.) growing on fresh manure and then explosively ejecting its sporangium

Reflected Light

10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Iker Duro

Science into Images

Can Massuet del Far, Dosrius, Barcelona, Spain

A freshwater worm (Chaetogaster) preying on a ciliate, which disintegrates almost instantly when ingested by the annelid

Darkfield

10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Frank Fox

Trier University of Applied Sciences

Konz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Rotifer (Stephanoceros fimbriatus) consuming green alga

Darkfield

50X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Gerd Günther

Düsseldorf, NRW, Germany

Alga (Volvox aureus) colonies in motion

Darkfield and Oblique lighting

5X, 10X and 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Cora A. Harris

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

MSG salt crystals forming in drops of solution

Polarized Light

4X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. James Hyde

Southern Arkansas University

Department of Biology

Magnolia, AR, Arkansas, USA

Cleavage in sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) embryos after fertilization and then hatching into free moving embryos

Phase Contrast

10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Zachary Lehmann

Vanderbilt University

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Actin-binding proteins in a polarized epithelial cell after calcium depletion

Confocal

60X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Yasaman Maaref

Simon Fraser University (SFU)

Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology (BPK)

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Live image of beating human heart cells with muscle fibers (green) and calcium signals (red)

Confocal

60X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Jay McClellan

Saranac, Michigan, USA

A northern crab spider (Mecaphesa asperata) scans for prey with the moving retinas in its forward-facing principal eyes

Reflected and Transmitted Light

2X, 5X, 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Andrew Moore

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Janelia Research Campus

Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Growing microtubules and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in a cultured cell

Confocal

63X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Nguyen Nam Nhat

Nguyen Nam OME

Chu Se, Gia Lai, Vietnam

Freshwater rotifer

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)

100X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Eric Peterman

University of Washington

Department of Biology

Seattle, Washington, USA

Skin stem cells (expressing a fluorescent probe involved in cellular motility) closing a wound in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Confocal

16X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Irina Petrova Adamatzky

UWE Bristol

College of Arts, Technology and Environment

Bristol, Somerset, United Kingdom

Hoverfly larva feeding on an aphid, showing its internal digestive system in action.

Reflected Light

5x (Objective Lens Magnification)

Benedikt Pleyer

Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany

Close Up of Tardigrade found on snow with ripe male gametes

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)

40X & 60X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Benedikt Pleyer

Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany

Dinoflagellate (Pyrocystis fusiforme) capable of bioluminescence

Darkfield

200X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Ariel Qassis

Ariel Qassis

Rishon Letsiyon, Israel, Israel

Various life stages of a fungi (chytrids) infecting a rotifer

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC), Darkfield, Phase contrast.

10X – 100X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas

CRBM-CNRS

Montpellier, Herault, France

A pregnant tardigrade making contact with another tardigrade, triggering excretion

Brightfield

20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Felix Thoma & Dr. Rodaria Roussou

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Biocenter

Planegg-Martinsried, Bavaria, Germany

Two versions of yeast mitochondrial DNA tracked in different colors

Fluorescence, Image Stacking

100X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Wim van Egmond

Micropolitan Museum

Berkel en Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, Netherlands

Fungus (Penicillium venetum) developing bright red guttation droplets

Image Stacking

10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Merel van Luyk

Utrecht University

Developmental Biology

Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

A mouse intestinal organoid with healthy cells (purple) fighting cancer cells (orange)

Fluorescence

20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

About the Nikon Small World Competition

The Nikon Small World Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography or video. 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 2027 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 manufacturing of optical, digital imaging technology and software for biomedical applications. For more information, please visit https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com or contact us at 1-800-52-NIKON.

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