Images of specimens entered into the 2009 Small World contest included microorganisms, plant tissues, fish scales, fibers, chemical crystals, soap bubbles, integrated circuits, liquid crystals, animal cells in culture, insects, and snowflakes. Judges for the 35th annual contest were Gary Borisy (Marine Biological Laboratory), Charles Krebs (Charles Krebs Photography), James Shreeve (National Geographic), and journalist Clive Thompson.

2009 Contest Prize Winners

  • First Prize

    1st Prize - Dr. Heiti Paves

    Tallinn University of Technology - Tallinn, Estonia
    Specimen: Anther of Arabidopsis thaliana (20x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Second Prize

    2nd Prize - Mr. Gerd A. Guenther

    Düesseldorf, Germany
    Specimen: Thin section through the flower stem of Sonchus asper (L.), Spiny Sowthistle. Hand cut with razor blade, covered with freshwater. (150x)
    Technique: Darkfield illumination. Deep focus fusing using 5 images.

  • Third Prize

    3rd Prize - Dr. Pedro Barrios-Perez

    National Research Council of Canada - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Specimen: Wrinkled photoresist (200x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Fourth Prize

    4th Prize - Mr. James Hayden

    The Wistar Institute - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
    Specimen: Anglerfish Ovary, H&E stain (4x)
    Technique: Autofluorescence

  • Fifth Prize

    5th Prize - Mr. Bruno Vellutini

    Centro de Biologia Marinha da Universidade de São Paulo - São Paulo, Brazil
    Specimen: Pluteus larva from the sea biscuit Clypeaster subdepressus
    Technique: DIC

  • Sixth Prize

    6th Prize - Dr. Havi Sarfaty

    Israel Veterinary Association - Ramat-Gan, Israel
    Specimen: Scales of Discus fish (20x)
    Technique: Transmitted Light

  • Seventh Prize

    7th Prize - Dr. Shirley Owens

    Flushing, Michigan, United States
    Specimen: Trichomes edging a Thunbergia alata, Black eyed Susan vine (450x)
    Technique: Confocal fluorescence and reflection

  • Eighth Prize

    8th Prize - Dr. Lloyd Donaldson

    Rotorua, New Zealand
    Specimen: Cotton fibres stained with berberine sulphate. Confocal depth shaded projection. (200x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Ninth Prize

    9th Prize - Dr. Bernardo Cesare

    Geosciences Department, University of Padova - Padova, Italy
    Specimen: A "symplectic" intergrowth of golden pyroxene and blue plagioclase in a granulite from N. Manitoba, Canada (5x)
    Technique: Polarized light

  • Tenth Prize

    10th Prize - Dr. Arlene Wechezak

    Anacortes, Washington, United States
    Specimen: Algae and diatoms (10x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Eleventh Prize

    11th Prize - Mr. Dominik Paquet

    Ludwig-Maximilians-University - Munich, Germany
    Specimen: 7 day old Tau-transgenic zebrafish (10x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Twelfth Prize

    12th Prize - Dr. Tsutomu Seimiya

    Tokyo Metropolitan University - Tokyo, Japan
    Specimen: Flow Pattern in Draining Soap Film (10x)
    Technique: Simple Close-up with Inverted 24 mm Lens

  • Thirteenth Prize

    13th Prize - Dr. John Hart

    University of Colorado - Boulder, Colorado, United States
    Specimen: Recrystallized melt of a mixture of acetanalide, resorcinal, and carbon tetrabromide (33x)
    Technique: Transmitted polarized light.

  • Fourteenth Prize

    14th Prize - Mrs. Tora Bardal

    NTNU Center of Fisheries and Aquaculture - Trondheim, Norway
    Specimen: Lobster egg, no preparation (3.2x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Fifteenth Prize

    15th Prize - Mr. Fabrice Parais

    DIREN Basse-Normandie - Caen, France
    Specimen: Diptera Atherix ibis larva (posterior segments with pseudopods) (25x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy

  • Sixteenth Prize

    16th Prize - Mr. Massimo Brizzi

    Microcosmo Italia - Florence, Italy
    Specimen: Limnea eggs, 1st stage of growth, formation of embryos (200x)
    Technique: DIC

  • Seventeenth Prize

    17th Prize - Dr. Rebekah Helton

    University of Delaware- Newark, Delaware, United States
    Specimen: Stopwatch (2.5x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Eighteenth Prize

    18th Prize - Dr. Julia Sero

    Harvard Medical School - Boston, Massachusetts, United States
    Specimen: Human dermal fibroblast plated on microcontact printed fibronectin island, stimulated with PDGF (60x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Nineteenth Prize

    19th Prize - Miss. Yanping Wang

    Beijing Planetarium - Beijing, China
    Specimen: Cloumn-with-plate-type snowflake (40x)
    Technique: DIC

  • Twentieth Prize

    20th Prize - Dr. Havi Sarfaty

    Israel Veterinary Association - Ramat-Gan, Israel
    Specimen: Rusted old coin found in the ground (40x)
    Technique: Transmited Light

Honorable Mentions

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Dylan Burnette

    National Institute of Child Health and Human Disease - National Institutes of Health - Bethesda, Maryland, USA
    Specimen: Ciliated protozoa (1700x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Kirk Czymmek

    Department of Biological Sciences - University of Delaware - Newark, Delaware, USA
    Specimen: Fungal infection of Arabidopsis (flowering plant) root (25x)
    Technique: Confocal 3D maximum intensity projection

  • Honorable Mention - Thomas Deerinck

    National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research - University of California, San Diego - La Jolla, California, USA
    Specimen: Rat cerebellum (200x)
    Technique: 2-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Nils O. E. Krutzfeldt

    School of Medical Sciences - University of Auckland - Auckland, New Zealand
    Specimen: Whole finch testicle (4x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Honorable Mention - David Millard

    Austin, Texas, USA
    Specimen: Fire agate (10x)
    Technique: Diffused incident illumination, fiber optic light guides

  • Honorable Mention - Larry Millet

    College of Engineering - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Urbana, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Aspergillus mold in a microfluidic device (20x)
    Technique: Differential interference contrast

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Juan Alberto Morales

    Departamento de Patología, Escuela Medicina Veterinaria - Universidad Nacional Autónoma - Heredia, Costa Rica
    Specimen: Aspergillus sp. (250x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Heiti Paves

    Tallinn University of Technology - Tallinn, Estonia
    Specimen: Arabidopsis thaliana (Thale cress) anther (20x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Honorable Mention - Juergen Pfleiderer

    Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
    Specimen: Buccinum undatum (sea snail) radula (100x)
    Technique: Light Microscopy

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Geetu Saxena

    University of Wisconsin, Madison - Madison, Wisconsin, USA
    Specimen: Liquid crystal between two glass slides (20x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Honorable Mention - Viktor Sýkora

    Institute of Pathophysiology, First Medical Faculty - Charles University - Prague, Czech Republic
    Specimen: Hoya carnosa (Wax plant) flower (10x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Honorable Mention - Bruno Vellutini

    Centro de Biologia Marinha da Universidade de São Paulo - São Paulo, Brazil
    Specimen: Clypeaster subdepressus (sea biscuit) free-swimming larva (20x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Uwe Weierstall

    Department of Physics and Astronomy - Arizona State University - Tempe, Arizona, USA
    Specimen: Water droplets ejected from a vibrating glass nozzle (200x)
    Technique: LED Illumination in transmission

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Ting Xie

    Stowers Institute - Kansas City, Missouri, USA
    Specimen: Fruit fly ovary section (400x)
    Technique: Confocal

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Robert Zucker

    USEPA - Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
    Specimen: Mosquito larvae (100x)
    Technique: Confocal

Images of Distinction

  • Dr. Hermann Aberle

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Hermann Aberle

    WWU Münster - Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
    Specimen: Neuromuscular synapses in a Drosophila larva (35x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Tracy Anderson

    Image of Distinction - Tracy Anderson

    CBS Imaging Center - University of Minnesota - St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
    Specimen: Dried toluidine blue on a Petri dish (7x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy with a combination of epsicopic-ring and diascopic oblique illumination
  • Dr. Pascal Ballester

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Pascal Ballester

    Munich, Germany
    Specimen: Salicornia europea (sprout) (20x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast
  • Norm Barker

    Image of Distinction - Norm Barker

    Department of Pathology - Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine - Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    Specimen: Dinosaur bone, Jurassic period (15x)
    Technique: Relected light from fiber optic
  • Dr. Pedro Barrios-Perez

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Pedro Barrios-Perez

    Institute for Microstructural Sciences - National Research Council of Canada - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Specimen: GaAs sample oxidized in water vapor (200x)
    Technique: Brightfield
  • Dr. Jorge Bernardino de la Serna

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Jorge Bernardino de la Serna

    MEMPHYS - Center for Biomembrane Physics - University of Southern Denmark - Odense, Denmark
    Specimen: Giant liposomes (40x)
    Technique: Confocal, two photon
  • Alistair Boettiger

    Image of Distinction - Alistair Boettiger

    Levine Lab - University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley, California, USA
    Specimen: Wild-type Drosophila melanogaster embryos and transgenic animals (200x)
    Technique: Fluorescent Confocal Microscopy
  • Dr. Christian Bohley

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Christian Bohley

    Department of Experimental Physics - Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg - Magdeburg, Germany
    Specimen: Degenerating blue phase II crystals (100x)
    Technique: IN Reflection between crossed Polarizers
  • Appie Bonis

    Image of Distinction - Appie Bonis

    Cambreur College - Dongen, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Tilia sp. stem (500x)
    Technique: Light Microscope
  • Appie Bonis

    Image of Distinction - Appie Bonis

    Cambreur College - Dongen, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Silver sand (500x)
    Technique: Light Microscope
  • Dr. Lawrence Bowler

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Lawrence Bowler

    Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society - Manchester, England, United Kingdom
    Specimen: Dover Sole skin (20x)
    Technique: Köhler lamp illumination
  • Dennis Breitsprecher

    Image of Distinction - Dennis Breitsprecher

    Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Specimen: Fluorescent actin bundles growing from the surface of coated beads (63x)
    Technique: In-vitro TIRF microscopy
  • Massimo Brizzi

    Image of Distinction - Massimo Brizzi

    Microcosmo Italia - Empoli, Firenze, Italy
    Specimen: Backswimmer aquatic insect (100x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. Timothy Bromage

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Timothy Bromage

    Department of Biomaterials - New York University College of Dentistry - New York, New York, USA
    Specimen: Forelimb bone from a rat flown aboard the NASA Space Shuttle
    Technique: Polarized light and fluorescence microscopy
  • Karl Bruun

    Image of Distinction - Karl Bruun

    Nostoca Algae Laboratory - Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA
    Specimen: Rhizosolenia setigera (diatoms) (200x)
    Technique: Phase Contrast
  • Matthias Burba

    Image of Distinction - Matthias Burba

    Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein - Hamburg, Germany
    Specimen: Antique microscope slide featuring diatoms (60x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. G. Lorenzo Calzoni

    Image of Distinction - Dr. G. Lorenzo Calzoni

    Dip. Biologia ES - Sez. Botanica - Universitá di Bologna - Bologna, Italy
    Specimen: Transverse section of brown algae (40x)
    Technique: Brightfield
  • Dr. Bernardo Cesare

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Bernardo Cesare

    Dipartimento di Geoscienze - Universitá degli Studi di Padova - Padova, Italy
    Specimen: Nummulitic limestone (2.5x)
    Technique: Polarized light, crossed polarizers plus quartz tint plate
  • Dr. Daniel Cooper

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Daniel Cooper

    Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
    Specimen: Fish scale base, whole mount (125x)
    Technique: Smith/Nomarski differential interference contrast
  • Denis Cote

    Image of Distinction - Denis Cote

    Université du Québec a Chicoutimi - Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
    Specimen: Chalcedony with quartz in quartzite
    Technique: Double polarized light
  • Doug Craft

    Image of Distinction - Doug Craft

    Doug Craft Fine Art - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
    Specimen: Benzoic Acid melt crystal (40x)
    Technique: Polarizing microscope
  • Doug Craft

    Image of Distinction - Doug Craft

    Doug Craft Fine Art - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
    Specimen: Benzoic Acid melt crystal (40x)
    Technique: Polarizing microscope
  • Doug Culley

    Image of Distinction - Doug Culley

    McMaster University - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
    Specimen: Grey cast iron (1000x)
    Technique: Differential interference contrast
  • Karl E. Deckart

    Image of Distinction - Karl E. Deckart

    Eckental, Germany
    Specimen: Soap film (10x)
    Technique: Reflected light
  • Ravi Desai

    Image of Distinction - Ravi Desai

    University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    Specimen: Normal rat kidney epithelial cells on a fibronectin surface pattern (630x)
    Technique: Fluorescence
  • Dr. Dirk Dormann

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Dirk Dormann

    MRC Clinical Sciences Centre - Imperial College London - London, England, United Kingdom
    Specimen: Life cycle of the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum (100x)
    Technique: Transmitted light
  • Dr. Theresa Freeman

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Theresa Freeman

    Jefferson Medical College - Thomas Jefferson University - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    Specimen: Synchondrosis of wt mouse with antibodies (20x)
    Technique: Fluorescence DAPI
  • Christian Gautier

    Image of Distinction - Christian Gautier

    Biosphoto - Avignon, France
    Specimen: 2 pinnae of Aspidium Felix (fern) (20x)
    Technique: Polarized Light
  • Dr. Yulia Getmanenko

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Yulia Getmanenko

    Kent State University - Kent, Ohio, USA
    Specimen: 1,4-di-(n-tridecylthophene-2-yl)-benzene (200x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscope
  • Roy Goldberg

    Image of Distinction - Roy Goldberg

    Johannes Gutenberg-University - Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
    Specimen: Photonic crystals prepared from dried silica (5x)
    Technique: Light Microscopy
  • Lyle Gordon

    Image of Distinction - Lyle Gordon

    Northwestern University - Evanston, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Chaetopleura Apiculata (Chiton) radula (100x)
    Technique: Reflected Light
  • Dr. Daniela Grifoni

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Daniela Grifoni

    Dipartimento di Biologia - Alma Mater Studiorum - Bologna, Italy
    Specimen: Mullerian epithelium from human fallopian tube (400x)
    Technique: Fluorescence Widefield
  • Jesper Grønne

    Image of Distinction - Jesper Grønne

    FotoJesper - Silkeborg, Denmark
    Specimen: A drop of pond water (100x)
    Technique: Brightfield
  • Didier Grunwald

    Image of Distinction - Didier Grunwald

    iRTSV/ TS - CEA Grenoble - Grenoble, France
    Specimen: Moth proboscis (10x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Eric Guyton

    Image of Distinction - Eric Guyton

    Martek Biosciences - Columbia, Maryland, USA
    Specimen: Microalgae in silicone matrix (10,000x)
    Technique: Light Microscopy
  • Hillary Guzik

    Image of Distinction - Hillary Guzik

    Rochester Institute of Technology - Rochester, New York, USA
    Specimen: Mammal heart (10x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. Rainer Haberberger

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Rainer Haberberger

    Department of Anatomy & Histology - Flinders University - Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
    Specimen: Mouse dorsal root ganglion (1200x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. Jens Hallfeldt

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Jens Hallfeldt

    Nienstaedt, Germany
    Specimen: Stephanoceros fimbriata (rotifer) on a moss leaf (80x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. Roger Hangarter

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Roger Hangarter

    Department of Biology - Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana, USA
    Specimen: Salamander larvae in egg with green algae (1x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. Roger Hangarter

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Roger Hangarter

    Department of Biology - Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana, USA
    Specimen: Green hydra anchored on jelly surface surrounding salamander larvae (1x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • John Hart

    Image of Distinction - John Hart

    Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences - University of Colorado - Boulder, Colorado, United States
    Specimen: Recrystallized melt mix of carbon tetra-bromide and resorcinol (33x)
    Technique: Polarized transmitted light
  • Sharyn Hedrick

    Image of Distinction - Sharyn Hedrick

    Smithsonian Environmental Research Center - Phytoplankton Ecology Lab - Edgewater, Maryland, United States
    Specimen: Diatom (480x)
    Technique: Phase contrast
  • Jennifer Hill

    Image of Distinction - Jennifer Hill

    Rochester Institute of Technology - Rochester, New York, USA
    Specimen: Section of circuit board (20x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast
  • Karie Holtermann

    Image of Distinction - Karie Holtermann

    Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA
    Specimen: Raindrop on butterfly wing (20x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast
  • J. Claire Hoving

    Image of Distinction - J. Claire Hoving

    Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine - University of Cape Town - Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
    Specimen: Section of female Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (nematode) with eggs (200x)
    Technique: Light Microscopy
  • Dr. Richard Howey

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Richard Howey

    Laramie, Wyoming, USA
    Specimen: Dumbbell sponge spicule from an unidentified sponge (125x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy
  • Dr. Eric Hwang

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Eric Hwang

    Department of Biological Science and Technology - National Chiao Tung University - Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, China
    Specimen: Neuronally differentiated P19 cells (400x)
    Technique: Epifluorescence microscopy
  • Pushpendra Jain

    Image of Distinction - Pushpendra Jain

    Department of Physics - University of Botswana - Gaborone, Botswana
    Specimen: Polished grey banded Carnelian (3x)
    Technique: Pin point illumination, diffused light
  • Frederick Keeney

    Image of Distinction - Frederick Keeney

    The Wistar Institute - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    Specimen: Carcenoma cells (40x)
    Technique: Fluorescence
  • Dr. Richard Levenson

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Richard Levenson

    CRI - Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Cirrhotic liver stained with hematoxylin (20x)
    Technique: Combination of standard widefield color microscopy and birefringence imaging using CRI optics and algorithms
  • Dr. Tie Liu

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Tie Liu

    Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science - Stanford University - Stanford, California, USA
    Specimen: Overexpression of a gene in an Arabidopsis (flowering plant) cell (50 µM)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Kathleen Llorens

    Image of Distinction - Kathleen Llorens

    LSU Health Sciences Center - Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
    Specimen: Re-crystallized urea
    Technique: Polarized light
  • Mark Lloyd

    Image of Distinction - Mark Lloyd

    H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center - Tampa, Florida, USA
    Specimen: Human ileum (20x)
    Technique: Upright widefield microscopy montage
  • Dr. Stephen Lowry

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Stephen Lowry

    University of Ulster - Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
    Specimen: Dennstaedtia sp. (Cup fern) longitudinal rhizome section (10x)
    Technique: Polarized light microscopy
  • Martin Mach

    Image of Distinction - Martin Mach

    München, Bavaria, Germany
    Specimen: Echiniscus mediantus (tardigrade, water bear), in various states of movement
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Ashley Marcellus

    Image of Distinction - Ashley Marcellus

    Nipissing University - North Bay, Ontario, Canada
    Specimen: Eriophorum vaginatum (Tussock cottongrass) corm (10x)
    Technique: Fluorescence microscopy
  • Ashley Marcellus

    Image of Distinction - Ashley Marcellus

    Nipissing University - North Bay, Ontario, Canada
    Specimen: Eriophorum vaginatum (Tussock cottongrass) corm (10x)
    Technique: Light microscopy
  • Dr. Robert Markus

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Robert Markus

    Institute of Genetics - Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Szeged, Hungary
    Specimen: Drosophila melanogaster immune cells (200x)
    Technique: Immunofluorescence
  • Dr. Robert Markus

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Robert Markus

    Institute of Genetics - Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Szeged, Hungary
    Specimen: Microprocessor with a pollen grain
    Technique: Immunofluorescence
  • Artur Matysik

    Image of Distinction - Artur Matysik

    Artur Matysik Photography - Krakow, Poland
    Specimen: Ammonium Dichromate, crystallized (160x)
    Technique: Crossed polarizers, darkfield
  • Artur Matysik

    Image of Distinction - Artur Matysik

    Artur Matysik Photography - Krakow, Poland
    Specimen: Beer bubbles (160x)
    Technique: Crossed polarizers, relief phase contrast
  • Dr. Jan Michels

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Jan Michels

    Institute of Zoology - Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel - Kiel, Germany
    Specimen: Daphnia pulex (water flea), ventral view, (10x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Dr. Alvaro Migotto

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Alvaro Migotto

    Centro de Biologia Marinha - Universidade de São Paulo - São Paulo, Brazil
    Specimen: Echinometra lucunter (sea urchin), oral view (20x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy
  • Dr. Marian Miller

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Marian Miller

    Department of Environmental Health - University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
    Specimen: Gastric secreting cells of a mouse (40x)
    Technique: Light microscopy
  • Torey Miller

    Image of Distinction - Torey Miller

    Department of Environmental Health - University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
    Specimen: Pinus sample (10x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Marek Mis

    Image of Distinction - Marek Mis

    Marek Mis Photography - Krzywe, Suwalki, Poland
    Specimen: Two Micrasterias sp. (green algae), live specimens (200x)
    Technique: Beyer's phase contrast
  • Marek Mis

    Image of Distinction - Marek Mis

    Marek Mis Photography - Krzywe, Suwalki, Poland
    Specimen: Two Closterium sp. (green algae), live specimens (200x)
    Technique: Beyer's phase contrast
  • Dr. Daniel Mulvihill

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Daniel Mulvihill

    Department of Biosciences - University of Kent - Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom
    Specimen: Cells probed with antibodies (100x)
  • Dr. Stephen Nagy

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Stephen Nagy

    Montana Diatoms - Helena, Montana, USA
    Specimen: Antique microscope slide featuring Sea Cucumber skin and - anchors (7.5x)
    Specimen: Polarized light
  • James Nicholson

    Image of Distinction - James Nicholson

    NOAA NOS NCCOS Coral Culture and Collaborative Research Facility - Charleston, South Carolina, USA
    Specimen: Coral, living specimen (6x)
    Specimen: Brightfield stereo
  • Earl Nishiguchi

    Image of Distinction - Earl Nishiguchi

    Kaua'i Community College - Lihue, Hawaii, USA
    Specimen: Chromosome from Drosophila melanogaster salivary glands (1000x)
    Specimen: Brightfield
  • Dr. Georg Nikolaus Nyman

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Georg Nikolaus Nyman

    Austrian Federal College for Graphic Arts - Wien, Austria
    Specimen: Agate - thin polished section (200x)
    Specimen: Transmitted Light Brightfield
  • Alan Opsahl

    Image of Distinction - Alan Opsahl

    Pfizer, Inc. - Groton, Connecticut, USA
    Specimen: Mouse Purkinje cells (40x)
    Specimen: Brightfield
  • Dr. Gregor Overney

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Gregor Overney

    Agilent Technologies, Inc. - Santa Clara, California, USA
    Specimen: Diatom arrangement (200x)
    Specimen: Darkfield
  • Dr. Shirley Owens

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Shirley Owens

    Michigan State University (retired) - East Lansing, Michigan, United States
    Specimen: Oenothera elata (Evening primrose) pollen grains (650x)
    Technique: Confocal Fluorescence
  • Karina Palma

    Image of Distinction - Karina Palma

    Laboratory of Experimental Ontogeny - Universidad de Chile - Santiago, Chile
    Specimen: Neuropil in the zebrafish epithalamus (40x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Yuchin Pan

    Image of Distinction - Yuchin Pan

    Harvard University - Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Three day old Brainbow zebrafish larva (20x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Dominik Paquet

    Image of Distinction - Dominik Paquet

    Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München - Adolf Butenandt Institute - Munich, Germany
    Specimen: Seven day old Tau-transgenic zebrafish (10x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Fabrice Parais

    Image of Distinction - Fabrice Parais

    Direction Regionale de l’Environnement - Herouville-Saint-Clair, France
    Specimen: Coleoptera: Elmis sp. (beetle) larva (60x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy
  • Fabrice Parais

    Image of Distinction - Fabrice Parais

    Direction Regionale de l’Environnement - Herouville-Saint-Clair, France
    Specimen: Diptera: Simulidae (fly) larva head (40x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy
  • Dr. Heiti Paves

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Heiti Paves

    Tallinn University of Technology - Tallinn, Estonia
    Specimen: Arabidopsis thaliana (Thale cress) stigma (20x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Dr. Celine Planchez

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Celine Planchez

    University of Maryland School of Medicine - Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    Specimen: Mouse brain pyramidal cells (20x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Dr. Gregory Richter

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Gregory Richter

    Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences - Penn State University - University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
    Specimen: Urea and mannitol melt recrystallization (10x)
    Technique: Polarized Light
  • Frederique Ruf-Zamojski

    Image of Distinction - Frederique Ruf-Zamojski

    California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, California, USA
    Specimen: Zebrafish embryo, 22 hours post-fertilization, living specimen (40x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Dr. Carlo Sala

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Carlo Sala

    CNR Institute of Neuroscience - Milano, Italy
    Specimen: Hippocampal neuron (63x)
    Technique: Confocal
  • Svetlana Savic-Sevic

    Image of Distinction - Svetlana Savic-Sevic

    Institute of Physics Belgrade - Serbia - Belgrade, Serbia
    Specimen: Photonic crystal structure manufactured holographically (100x)
    Technique: Transmission, Brightfield
  • Shmuel Silberman

    Image of Distinction - Shmuel Silberman

    Ramat-Gan, Israel
    Specimen: Embryo of guppy fish (40x)
    Technique: Reflected light by fiber-optics
  • Raymond Sloss

    Image of Distinction - Raymond Sloss

    Northamptonshire Natural History Society - Northampton, United Kingdom
    Specimen: Lily Anther, transverse section (250x)
    Technique: Brightfield
  • Josef Spacek

    Image of Distinction - Josef Spacek

    University Hospital, Department of Pathology - Charles University Prague - Faculty of Medicine Hradec Kralove - Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
    Specimen: Lime tree leaf vessels (30x)
    Technique: Digital solarization filter
  • Viktor Sykora

    Image of Distinction - Viktor Sykora

    Institute of Pathophysiology - 1st Faculty of Medicine - Charles University, Hyskov, Czech Republic
    Specimen: Lichen (10x)
    Technique: Stereomicroscopy, darkfield
  • Michelle Tebbe

    Image of Distinction - Michelle Tebbe

    Central Washington University - Ellensburg, Washington, USA -
    Specimen: Twisted alpha-quartz with bands of hematite and goethite (10x)
    Technique: Plane-polarized transmitted-light photomicrograph
  • Dr. Anand Krishna Tiwari

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Anand Krishna Tiwari

    Indian Institute of Toxicology Research - Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
    Specimen: Axonal projections of an ommatidium (40x)
    Technique: Immunofluorescence
  • Wim van Egmond

    Image of Distinction - Wim van Egmond

    Micropolitan Museum - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Ceratium hirundinella (freshwater dinoflagellate), living specimen (400x)
    Technique: Differential interference contrast
  • Wim van Egmond

    Image of Distinction - Wim van Egmond

    Micropolitan Museum - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Filinia terminalis (rotifer) (250x)
    Technique: Differential interference contrast
  • Marc Van Hove

    Image of Distinction - Marc Van Hove

    Centexbel - Zwijnaarde, Belgium
    Specimen: Top of metal tufting hook used in a tufting machine to make carpets (5x)
    Technique: Epi-brightfield illumination with colored filters and extended depth of focus
  • Daniel Vega

    Image of Distinction - Daniel Vega

    Madrid, Spain
    Specimen: Gall formed by Trigonaspis mendesi (4x)
    Technique: Indicente light and transillumination
  • Dr. Adele Vincent

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Adele Vincent

    Menzies Research Institute, Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology - University of Tasmania - Tasmania, Australia
    Specimen: Crystal formed from dessicated phosphate-buffered saline (100x)
    Technique: Phase Contrast
  • Dr. Daniel Webber

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Daniel Webber

    Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair - University of Cambridge - Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Specimen: Human embryonic stem cells (20x)
    Technique: Widefield fluroescence microscopy
  • Dr. Arlene Wechezak

    Image of Distinction - Dr. Arlene Wechezak

    Anacortes, Washington, United States
    Specimen: Branching filamentous diatom colonies with algae 'eyes' (4x)
    Technique: Darkfield
  • Dr. QJ Yuan

    Image of Distinction - Dr. QJ Yuan

    Department of Anatomy - University of Hong Kong - Hong Kong
    Specimen: Pine skin
  • Tong Zhang

    Image of Distinction - Tong Zhang

    McGill University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
    Specimen: Xenopus tadpole
    Technique: Confocal

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