Tsinghua Engineer Wins Nikon Small World in Motion Contest
Ning Xu of Tsinghua University has won Nikon's Small World in Motion contest for a super-resolution video of abnormal airway cilia in a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia, topping 346 entries from 40 countries.
The competition, sponsored by Nikon, was founded in 2011 as a spinoff of the company's Small World Photomicrography Competition, which began in 1974. Both contests are intended to showcase the beauty and complexity of things seen through the light microscope. The older competition does so through still photographs; Small World in Motion does so through photovideography, using technological advances that allow users to make movies or time-lapse images through the microscope.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia affects the tiny hairlike structures that line the lungs, among other areas. The wavelike motion of these cilia normally helps move germs, mucus, dust, and other irritants so the body can expel them through coughing or sneezing. In people born with PCD, something is wrong with the cilia. They may be the wrong size, the wrong shape, or missing altogether. They may move abnormally or not move at all.
Because the cilia do not work as they should, irritants build up. That can lead to respiratory infections, among other complications. Xu's winning video focuses on that abnormal movement in the airways of a child with the disorder, according to Ars Technica. The video was selected from entries submitted from 40 different countries, with 346 other videos competing against it.