Nikon Small World in Motion 2026

November 5, 2026

The competition celebrates the best in microscopic imagery, from tiny jellyfish to a single-celled organism battling its neighbor.

microscopy
AI
cells

The natural world is full of tiny, hidden details…

Organisms, structures, and processes that are too small to see with the human eye.

Scientists use microscopes to explore these minuscule worlds, a field of study called microscopy.

microscopy

A 5x magnification makes something look five times bigger…

While 500x magnification makes it five hundred times bigger.

500x

Nikon Small World in Motion

Since 2011, the Nikon Small World in Motion competition has been a showcase for video clips of all things microscopic.

This year, the judges gave Honorable Mentions to a wide variety of miniature marvels, including this extra-close look at a crab spider using its 8 eyes to scan for prey…

100x

A glimpse at tiny plankton producing their own light, known as bioluminescence...

200x

bioluminescence

And this clip of a tardigrade—a micro-animal sometimes known as a water bear or moss piglet!

40x

60x

tardigrade

In the winner’s list, third place went to Dr. Andrew Moore, for this video showing how cells divide to make new cells.

63x

In second was nature photographer Benedikt Pleyer for this video of jellyfish larvae suspended in droplets of water.

25x

Jellyfish at this stage of their life cycle are called ephyrae... and are already able to swim freely inside the droplet.

ephyrae

Finally, first prize went to Vietnamese researcher Nguyen Nam Nhat, who recorded a single-celled organism called Dileptus exploring its freshwater environment.

40x

Dileptus

It shows the Dileptus being attacked by a roundworm, which manages to break off a part of its single-celled body!

However, this wasn’t the competition’s original winner.

Initially, the top spot went to Dr. Ning Xu for this clip of a patient’s cilia—tiny hairlike structures that line our lungs and airways and help to keep them clean.

100x

But experts questioned whether AI had been used to change the image in ways that misrepresented the original data, pointing out inaccurate and inconsistent details.

After further review, the judges agreed and chose to disqualify the video, but it had already sparked a wider debate about how AI should be used in scientific imaging.

Despite this controversy, the wider collection of videos on display offers a chance to see the natural world differently...

And reminds us that there’s more going on around us than meets the eye.

Thanks for watching Twig Science Reporter. We’ll see you next month for more science news.

Teaching Overview

Learning Points

Microscopy is the use of microscopes to observe things too small to see with the human eye, using magnification to make them appear larger.
This year’s Nikon Small World in Motion competition included clips showing a unicellular organism called Dileptus exploring its environment, and jellyfish larvae suspended in a droplet of water.
First prize was initially awarded to a video of a patient’s airways, until some experts questioned its use of AI.

Curriculum Keywords

microscopy
AI
cells

Spark a Discussion

What is microscopy?
What are cilia, and what do they do?
Why was the original winner of this year’s Nikon Small World in Motion competition controversial?

Credits

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.

Nguyen Nam Nhat
Nguyen Nam OME
Chu Se, Gia Lai, Vietnam
A tiny roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus explore their microscopic world

Benedikt Pleyer
Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany
Jellyfish larvae suspended in water droplets

Dr. Andrew Moore
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA
Synchronized cell division in neighboring cells

Jay McClellan
Saranac, Michigan, USA
A northern crab spider (Mecaphesa asperata) scans for prey with the moving retinas in its forward-facing principal eyes

Benedikt Pleyer
Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany
Close Up of Tardigrade found on snow with ripe male gametes

Benedikt Pleyer
Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany
Dinoflagellate (Pyrocystis fusiforme) capable of bioluminescence

Dr. Patrick Hickey
HYPHA RESEARCH LIMITED
EDINBURGH, MIDLOTHIAN, United Kingdom
Dynamics of mitochondria (green) and chloroplasts (red) in Turtle Vine leaf cells (Callisia repens)

Igor Adameyko
Medical University of Vienna
Center for Brain Research
Vienna, Vienna region, Austria
A tiny, colorful sea slug (Cyerce kikutarobabai) on the move

Wim van Egmond
Micropolitan Museum
Berkel en Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, Netherlands
Fungus (Penicillium venetum) developing bright red guttation droplets

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