There is a micro world full of drama and action all around us that our naked eyes can't see.
But thanks to the incredible power of microscopes and advancing video technologies, this hidden realm can be revealed -- just check out the videos (below) that were recently honored in Nikon's fifth annual Small World in Motion Photomicrography Competition.
The first place-winning video was taken by Wim van Egmond, a curator at the Micropolitan Museum in The Netherlands, and shows a microorganism devouring its prey in water that was scooped out of a friend’s backyard pond.
"Wildlife is so close to us, yet most of us never look close enough to see it," van Egmond said in a statement. "A pool in your garden is actually a miniature underwater jungle teeming with life. If you want to see the world, your backyard is a great place to start."
Check out the top three winning videos and 15 honorable mentions below. Enjoy!
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A tiny single-celled creature, called a ciliate, devouring its prey.
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The microorganisms found in the gut contents of a termite.
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A parasite larva breaking out of its host, Uraba lugens, and then spinning its own cocoon.
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Dr. Luigia Santella, A. Puppo, JT Chun, G. Gragnaniello & E. Garante
The calcium increase and sperm incorporation that happens after a starfish egg is fertilized.
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Dr. Jing Yan, Jie Zhang & Dr. Steve Granick
These are janus colloids, or micron-sized particles that spontaneously move in an AC electric field.
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Dr. Paolo Annibale & Enrico Gratton
Fluorescently labeled chromatin array (in red) and mRNA (in green) in cells.
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Droplets releasing nutrients after being exposed to a simulated gastric fluid.
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Dr. Annie Lu & Dr. Srinivasa Raghavan
Capsules containing platinum reacting with hydrogen peroxide.
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Dr. Abigail Tucker & Dr. Marcia Gaete, King's College London
A mouse whisker hair follicle developing.
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A small aquatic animal called a rotifer, or Lepadella triba.
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Dr. Daisuke Kurihara of Nagoya University
The embryogenesis of a thale cress plant, or Arabidopsis thaliana.
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Dr. Michael Weber of Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
The cardiovascular system of a four-day-old zebrafish.
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Human tissue ablated by a laser pulse.
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Ms. Haripriya Mukundarajan, Vivek N. Prakash, Nicolas Harmand & Manu Prakash
Cyanobacterium, or Oscillatoria princeps, filaments.
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Soap film.
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A water flea.
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Single-celled creatures called ciliates (Paramecium caudatum and Frontonia leucas).
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The growth of penicillium fungi.
Check out this year's Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition winners in the slideshow below.
