Nikon Small World Competition 2010

Nikon Small World Photo Contest has been held for the 36th year and attracts participants from around the world. Photos in this release was made amateur photographers, professionals and scientists with a microscope. The jury selected 137 finalists already, the purpose of which - "recognition of the importance and beauty of photographs taken through a microscope." Four judges will choose the winners in the next month, and now we offer you a look at the brightest members.

Egg of a butterfly on a flower bud (increase x6). Photo taken in Austin, Texas.





Soap film (magnification x 150). Picture taken in Dusseldorf, Germany. (GERD GUENTHER / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Crystallized soy sauce (magnification x16). Picture taken at the Beijing University of Foreign Languages ​​and Culture. (YANPING WANG / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Part of the jaw spider (increase x10). Picture taken in Knokke, Belgium. (PHILIPPE VERREES / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Seed bird of paradise (increase x10). Picture taken at the Institute of Pathophysiology in Prague. (VIKTOR SYKORA / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Abdomen bee pollen (increase x40). Picture taken in the Institute for Genetics and biological research in Hungary. (DR. ROBERT MARKUS / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Early stage of ovule weed Arabidopsis thaliana (x20 increase). Picture taken in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Oxford. (DR. JOHN RUNIONS / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Fern spores (magnification x20). Picture taken in the Institute of Philadelphia. (FREDERICK KEENEY / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Eyes and mustache wasps (magnification x40). Picture taken in Issaquah, Washington. (CHARLES KREBS / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Fungi species Aspergilis niger (x40 increase). Picture taken at the Institute of Biology in Leiden, the Netherlands. (GERDA LAMERS / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Air bubble in the medical gel (increase x300). Picture taken at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. (JERZY GUBERNATOR / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Ciliates paramecium (tiny organisms living in water) - increase x100. Picture taken in Connecticut College in New London. (DR. PETER SIVER / BARCROFT MEDIA LTD)



Bearded weevil (magnification x10). Picture taken at the University of Colombia in Medellin. (ALEXA VANEGAS / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Flies laid eggs (magnification x40). Picture taken in Paris. (JULIETTE MATHIEU / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Section of the human brain (increase X63). Picture taken at the University del Sur, Buenos Aires. (DR. MARIA PRADO-FIGUEROA / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Crystals of sodium saccharinate. Picture taken in Salem, Oregon. (DARRYL HOVER / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Mouse embryonic stem cells (magnification X63). Picture taken at the Center for Medical regeneration in Barcelona. (DR. JUAN CARLOS IZPISUA / BARCROFT MEDIA)



Crystal Snowflake (increase x40). Picture taken in Sonkajärvi, Finland. (PEKKA HONKAKOSKI / BARCROFT MEDIA)



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