See the most amazing microscopic images from the Small World 2015 contest

In recent years, Nikon has been holding a very interesting contest for photographers and scientists around the world. This is nothing less than the Small World Photomicrography Competition, a photography competition that allows only the most amazing images of microscopic objects.

Well, the fact is that the 2015 edition of the contest has finally had its winners revealed. And we, from TecMundo, as usual, came to bring the most impressive photos of the competition for you to check out the list below. Can you identify what is shown in each of them?

1st place

Author: Ralph Claus Grimm

Zoom Level: 120x

The first place impresses not only for the beauty of the image, but also for bringing an absurd 120x zoom. In it, you can check out the eye made up of a bee, full of pollen drops of a dandelion, that got stuck in its hair (yes, bees have even eye hairs, by the way).

2nd place

Authors: Kristen Earle, Gabriel Billings, KC Huang and Justin Sonnenburg

Zoom Level: 63x

Despite the beauty of the colors, the photo brings something pretty disgusting: a mouse's colon. The organ has different shades for each part - blue for the fabric of the walls, green for the mucus that covers the entire structure ... What about the mass of red, pink and green? Basically, it is the microbiota flora of humans that was inserted into the animal.

3rd place

Author: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz

Zoom Level: 100x

This face that most resembles a mixture between a little monster and a root is not without reason: the photo shows a Utricularia gibba, a type of freshwater carnivorous plant.

4th place

Authors: Daniel H. Miller and Ethan S. Sokol

Zoom Level: 100x

Already here you probably can not even imagine what it is. After all, how would anyone think a lab-grown mammary gland would look like this when viewed so closely?

5th place

Authors: Dr. Giorgio Seano and Dr. Rakesh J. Jain

If you thought it was some kind of cell, you were wrong: this is actually a digitally colored image of the brain of a mouse with glioblastoma (basically a malignant brain tumor, highlighted there in green and yellow).

6th place

Author: Henri Koskinen

No, this is not a leech or anything like that, but just a moss spore capsule.

7th place

Author: Evan Darling

Zoom Level: 10x

Okay. Anyone who doesn't realize this is a starfish definitely needs to go back to biology classes.

8th place

Author: Dr. Tomoko Yamazaki

Zoom Level: 10x

A huge tree full of branches? No. It is just the nervous system and blood vessels in a rat's ear.

9th place

Author: Dr. Nathanaël Prunet

Zoom Level: 40x

Have you ever wondered what a mustard flower looks like when it's just beginning to germinate? Well, this image answers your curiosity.

10th place

Author: Ian Gardiner

Zoom Level: 25x

Would you believe if someone told you that oysters have eyes, legs and everything other marine arthropods have? Probably not - after all, most people just saw them served on a plate, like a small mass of meat. But the image above of a tiny mollusk clearly shows that this is not the case.

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Did you like the list? So be aware that there is much more to see, including the other Top 20 winners, honorable mentions and other highlights of the competition. Click here to see the complete list.

In addition, TecMundo has been following this famous event for some time - including bringing the Small World in Motion competition, which consists of videos, not photos, of microscopic figures. Just click on our links to check it out.

Via TecMundo.