remain one of the greatest scourges of mankind,” said winner Jonas King of Vanderbilt University in a press release Oct. 13.  “And this image of the mosquito heart helps us understand how they transport nutrients, hormones, and even pathogens such as malaria throughout their bodies.”

Having been one of the judges of the Nikon Small World competition this year, I know how many truly stunning contenders there were. Selecting the best 20 was quite a challenge. The judges, which included both journalists and scientists, spent an entire day slowly whittling the record 2,200 images down to the best. I am definitely biased, but I think the group we ended up with is the best the contest has ever seen.

The other winning photomicrographs we chose included subjects such as a wasp’s nest, the olfactory bulbs of zebra fish, seaweed, soy sauce, cancer cells, sulfur and a rat retina. As you look through them here, see if you can guess what they are before you read the captions.

The top photos were displayed online prior to the announcement today of how they placed so that the public could vote on them. Your top choice was the 40 times magnified image of a female black bean aphid with babies on board (below) by Tomas Cabello of the Universidad of Almería in Spain.

Images: Courtesy of Nikon Small World

See Also:

• 6 Super Close-Ups of Crazy Bug Eyes
• Soy Sauce, Soap and Saccharin: Microphotography Winners Revealed
• Top Photomicrographs of Life Beginning
• 35 Years of the World’s Best Microscope Photography

Authors: Betsy Mason

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