Ning Xu, an optical engineer at Tsinghua University in Beijing, has been named the winner of this year’s Nikon Small World in Motion competition. Xu distinguished himself from 346 other video submissions representing 40 countries by capturing a super-resolution view of the abnormal beating of airway cilia in a child diagnosed with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD).
Launched in 2011, the video competition serves as the moving-image counterpart to Nikon’s long-standing Small World Photomicrography Contest, which began in 1974. Both initiatives aim to highlight the aesthetic and structural intricacies visible through light microscopy, leveraging modern technological capabilities to produce time-lapse imagery and movies that were previously unattainable.
Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia is a rare genetic condition that impairs the function of microscopic, hair-like structures known as cilia, which line the respiratory tract and other areas of the body. In healthy individuals, these cilia exhibit a wavelike motion that helps clear mucus, dust, germs, and other irritants, allowing the body to expel them through coughing or sneezing. However, in patients with PCD, the cilia may be malformed, improperly sized, absent, or entirely immotile. This dysfunction leads to the accumulation of irritants and frequent respiratory infections.
China taking top honors in global microscopy is impressive. Tsinghua’s research output continues to climb.
Wait, cilia don’t move like that in healthy people? The video really shows the chaos of PCD clearly.
Fascinating to see how microscopy can reveal such critical medical insights while also being visually stunning.