1st place: Portrait of a bug – Igor Siwanowicz / Max Planck Inst. of Neurobiology

Every year, the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition highlights the beauty and complexity of the world as seen through the light microscope. The top 20 pictures for 2011 focus on a wide range of biological and geological subjects, with a little fun thrown in.

2. A blade of grass – Donna Stolz / University of Pittsburgh

3. It’s alive! – Frank Fox / Fachhochschule Trier

4. Lovely liverwort – Robin Young / UBC

5. Neon circuits – Alfred Pasieka

6. Black and white – Dennis Callahan / Caltech

7. Some nerve! – Gabriel Luna / UCSB

8. Graphic granulite – Bernardo Cesare / Univ. of Padua

9. Micro-monster – Jan Michels / Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

10. See-through flea – Joan Röhl

11. Ant attack! – Jan Michels / Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

12. Immortal cells – Thomas Deerinck / NCMIR

13. Pick your poison – Stephen S. Nagy / Montana Diatoms

14. Groovy grains – Yanping Wang / Beijing Planetarium

15. Coral on fire – James H. Nicholson / CCEHBR

16. Bionic cells – Christopher Guérin / VIB

17. The worm turns – Witold Kilarski / EPFL / LLCB

18. Inside a leaf – Benjamin Blonder, David Elliott / Univ. of Arizona

19. Season’s proteins – Donna Stolz / Univ. of Pittsburgh

20. A dinosaur’s stony stare – Douglas Moore / UW-Stevens Point

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