This stunning image of a fluorescent turtle embryo has won top spot in the 45th Annual Nikon Small World Competition.
In order to create it, microscopy technician Teresa Zgoda and graduate Teresa Kugler, from Campbell Hall, New York, US, used a combination of fluorescence and stereo microscopy. However, due to their subject’s size – just over two centimetres long and thick – they could only image very small parts at a time.
What you are looking at is hundreds of images stacked and stitched together.
“Microscopy lets us zoom in on the smallest organisms and building blocks that comprise our world – giving us a profound appreciation for the small things in life that far too often go unnoticed,” says Kugler, “It allows me to do science with a purpose.”
The full gallery of this year’s entries can be viewed here.
Originally published by Cosmos as Tiny turtle takes top prize
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