Meet the winner of Nikon's Small World in Motion video contest
Ning Xu of Tsinghua University captured tiny cilia beating in airways of a child with rare respiratory disorder.
Ning Xu of Tsinghua University captured tiny cilia beating in airways of a child with rare respiratory disorder.
The short version
- A Chinese optical engineer is the winner of this year’s Small World in Motion competition, sponsored by Nikon.
- Ning Xu of Tsinghua University in Beijing beat out 346 other video entries from 40 different countries with his super-resolution video (above) of the abnormal beating of cilia in the airways of a child with a rare genetic respiratory disorder.
- Founded in 2011, the Nikon Small World in Motion competition is a spinoff of the company’s Small World Photomicrography Competition, which has been around since 1974.
What happened
In that sense, the disease is defined by movement, so studying it requires observing those cilia in motion with video, not just still imagery. That’s a challenge, given their small size and rapid movement, plus they must be imaged while still living.
Why it matters
That rules out many advanced microscopy techniques, particularly those that rely on intense light or fluorescent dyes.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.