2026 Nikon Small World in Motion: Microscopy Videos Reveal Life in Motion

Some diseases are defined by movement, making it essential to observe living cells in motion rather than relying on still images. That is particularly challenging when the structures are extremely small, move rapidly and must be imaged while alive. These requirements rule out many advanced microscopy techniques that use intense light or fluorescent dyes.

Super-resolution microscopy captures cilia in motion

Xu, an optical engineer who develops advanced imaging systems for observing cellular structures in motion, captured ciliary movement with a diffractive super-resolution microscope. The system uses multiple light waves and digital micromirrors to precisely shape illumination.

By minimizing the amount of light reaching the biological sample, the microscope can record rapid ciliary movements in high resolution while helping preserve the living specimen.

“To understand this disease, we need to look at about 10 seconds of movement, not just a still image,” Xu says. “When people see cilia beating, they immediately understand that something beautiful and important is happening inside us. I think this competition will turn microscopy into a common language.”

Other award-winning microscopy videos

• Second place: Nguyen Nam Nhat from Vietnam, with a video featuring a small roundworm and a single-celled organism.
• Third place: Benedikt Preyer from Bavaria, Germany, with a video of a jellyfish larva suspended in a drop of water.
• Fourth place: Andrew Moore of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the United States, with a video showing synchronized cell division in adjacent cells.
• Fifth place: Patrick Hickey of Hypha Research Ltd. in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a video exploring mitochondria and chloroplast dynamics in Turtle Vine leaf cells.

Watch the 2026 Nikon Small World in Motion entries

Explore these award-winning microscopy videos and the competition’s honorable mentions in the 2026 Nikon Small World in Motion gallery.