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Pin-ItThis image of a tardigrade displaying complex behavior is one of two winning images by Mr. Martin-Ledo in this year’s competition. It is very rare to see complex behavior in microscopic organisms but in this movie, it certainly appears to be the case. A tardigrade is typically known for slow, clumsy and erratic movement, however in this rare instance, specific locomotion is observed whereby the creature is propelling itself in forward motion as it moves around the slide exploring its surroundings. Mr. Martin Ledo, a high school biology teacher uses these amazing images to teach young people about the wonders of the unseen world all around us.
2020 Small World in Motion Competition
Honorable Mention
A marine tardigrade (Batillipes lusitanus)
Rafael Martín-Ledo
- Affiliation
- IES Leonardo Torres Quevedo
Santander, Cantabria, Spain
- Technique
- Phase Contrast
- Magnification
- 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Honorable Mention
Two larvae of a parasitic flatworm (Platyhelminthes)
Rafael Martín-Ledo
- Affiliation
- IES Leonardo Torres Quevedo
Biología y Geología
Santander, Cantabria, Spain
- Technique
- Phase Contrast
- Magnification
- 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Two larvae of parasitic flatworm are captured here, seemingly interacting in what might be arguably displayed as complex interactive behavior between the two creatures. It brings to light the fact that, albiet it rare, complex interactions between microscopic creatures do exist. Capturing this wonderful exchange between the two organisms is especially difficult since Mr. Martin Ledo needed to use extreme care when isolating them to assure they are not damaged or change their morphology. This movie was captured using phase contrast microscopy.
Honorable Mention
Nematode
Rogelio Moreno
- Location
- Panama, Panama
- Technique
- Polarized Light
- Magnification
- 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Mr. Moreno’s main line of work is as a computer systems engineer, but he has been taking micrographs and micrograph movies since 2009. In 2020, he placed in the winners circle an amazing 3 times, with 2 movies and one still image, bringing his winning Small World image library up to 18 times since 2012! This stunning example of a nematode using polarized lighting is a fine example of Rogelio’s outstanding abilities in microscopy, beautifully showcasing the animal’s movements. Polarized light combined with a lambda plate help to create beautiful color changes as the creature moves about on its journey.
Top 20
Honorable Mentions
Judges
Dr. Dylan Burnette
Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Vanderbilt University
Burnette has been using high resolution microscopy to study cells for over 20 years. His laboratory at Vanderbilt University focuses on how cells grow and divide. He is interested in how these processes contribute to the function of heart muscle. He trained as a graduate student with Dr. Paul Forscher at Yale University and as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Burnette has placed in the Nikon Small World competition eleven times.
Samantha Clark
Photo Editor National Geographic
Clark works on stories about science and the environment. She previously worked on NPR’s photo team and at Pier 24 Photography. Before working in visuals, she was a reporter and radio producer based in the Bay Area of San Francisco.
Sean Greene
Graphics and Data Journalist The Los Angeles Times
Greene covers science, the environment and medicine. He started working for The Los Angeles Times in 2014 and specializes in combining the powers of visual storytelling and the internet to tell meaningful and memorable stories. He’s reported on native oysters, bugs and frog tongues, and helped develop projects such as an interactive map of the Milky Way, a tracker of coronavirus cases in California and a data analysis of the dialogue in the Star Wars movies.
Dr. Christophe Leterrier
Group Leader Institute of Neurophysiopathology at CNRS and Aix-Marseille University
An engineer by training, Dr. Leterrier turned to cell biology and neurobiology for his Ph.D. He studies how neurons are organized at the cellular level and how they differentiate, then build and maintain their incredibly complex arborization. Since 2017, he has led the NeuroCyto lab in Marseille where he applies advanced microscopy techniques to directly observe molecular assemblies at the nanoscale inside neurons.
Ariel Waldman
Chair of the External Council NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Program
Waldman led an expedition to Antarctica to film microscopic life under the ice. She is the co-author of a National Academy of Sciences report on the future of human spaceflight and the author of the book What’s It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who’ve Been There. Waldman is the global director of Science Hack Day, a National Geographic Explorer, a member of the San Francisco Microscopical Society, and received an honoree from the Obama White House as a Champion of Change in citizen science.
