Nikon's Small World Contest 2012: Life as you've never seen it

<b>Image of Distinction: House Spider</b> Harold Taylor<br> Kensworth, Dunstable, United Kingdom<br><br><i>Image Stacking, 30x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>20th Place: Embryos of the species Molossus rufus (black mastiff bat)</b> Dorit Hockman<br> Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience<br> University of Cambridge<br> Cambridge, United Kingdom<br><i><br> Brightfield</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>19th Place: Floral primordia of Allium sativum (garlic)</b> Dr. Somayeh Naghiloo<br> Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences<br> University of Tabriz<br> Tabriz, Iran<br><br><i>Epi-Illumination</i>

<b>18th Place: Coral sand</b> Dr. David Maitland<br> www.davidmaitland.com<br> Feltwell, United Kingdom<br><br><i>Brightfield, 100x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>17th Place: Stinging nettle trichome on leaf vein</b> Charles Krebs<br> Charles Krebs Photography<br> Issaquah, Washington, USA<br><br><i>Transmitted Light, 100x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>16th Place: Fossilized Turitella agate containing Elimia tenera (freshwater snails) and ostracods (seed shrimp)</b> Douglas Moore<br> University Relations &amp; Communications/Geology<br> University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point<br> Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA<br><br><i>Stereomicroscopy, 7x</i>

<b>15th Place: Section of a Coccinella (ladybug) leg</b> Andrea Genre<br> Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology<br> University of Turin<br> Turin, Italy<br><br><i>Confocal, 10x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>14th Place: Pistil of Adenium obesum</b> José R. Almodóvar Rivera<br> University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, Biology Department<br> Mayaguez Puerto Rico, USA<br><br><i>Image Stacking, 10x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>13th Place: Sonderia sp. (a ciliate that preys upon various algae, diatoms, and cyanobacteria)</b> Dr. Diana Lipscomb<br> Department of Biological Sciences<br> George Washington University<br> Washington, District of Columbia, USA<br><br><i>Nomarski Interference Contrast, 400x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>12th Place: Cells sprout from dextran beads embedded in fibrin gel</b> Esra Guc<br> École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)<br> Lausanne, Switzerland<br><br><i>Fluorescence, Confocal, 200x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>11th Place: Tip of the gut of a Drosophila melanogaster larva </b> Jessica Von Stetina<br> Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research<br> Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA<br><br><i>Confocal, 25x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>10th Place: Brittle star</b> Dr. Alvaro Migotto<br> University of São Paulo<br> Centro de Biologia Marinha<br> São Paulo, Brazil<br><br><i>Stereomicroscopy, Darkfield, 8x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>9th Place: Myrmica sp. (ant) carrying its larva</b> Geir Drange<br> Asker, Norway<br><br><i>Reflected Light, Image Stacking, 5x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>8th Place: Pleurobrachia sp. (sea gooseberry) larva</b> Gerd A. Guenther<br> Düsseldorf, Germany<br><br><i>Differential Interference Contrast, 500x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>7th Place: Eye organ of a fruit fly larva</b> Dr. Michael John Bridge<br> HSC Core Research Facilities - Cell Imaging Lab<br> University of Utah<br> Salt Lake City, Utah, USA<br><br><i>Confocal, 60x</i>

<b>6th Place: Cosmarium sp. (desmid) near a Sphagnum sp. leaf</b> Marek Mis<br> Marek Mis Photography<br> Suwalki, Poland<br><br><i>Polarized Light, 100x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>5th Place: Cacoxenite (mineral) from La Paloma Mine, Spain</b> Honorio Cócera-La Parra<br> Museum of Geology, Department of Geology<br> University of Valencia<br> Valencia, Spain<br><br><i>Transmitted Light, 18x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>4th Place: Drosophila melanogaster visual system halfway through pupal development, showing retina (gold), photoreceptor axons (blue), and brain (green)</b> Dr. W. Ryan Williamson<br> Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)<br> Ashburn, Virginia, USA<br><br><i>Confocal, 1500x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>3rd Place: Human bone cancer (osteosarcoma) showing actin filaments (purple), mitochondria (yellow), and DNA (blue)</b> Dr. Dylan Burnette<br> National Institutes of Health<br> Bethesda, Maryland, USA <i>Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM), 63x</i><br>   (Nikon Small World)

<b>2nd Place: Live newborn lynx spiderlings</b> Walter Piorkowski<br> South Beloit, Illinois, USA <i>Reflected Light, Fiber Optics, Image Stacking, 6x</i> (Nikon Small World)

<b>1st Place: The blood-brain barrier in a live zebrafish embryo</b> Dr. Jennifer L. Peters and Dr. Michael R. Taylor<br> St. Jude Children's Research Hospital<br> Memphis, Tennessee USA<br><br><i>Confocal, 20x</i> (Nikon Small World)