Nikon Small World in Motion 2026: Dr. Ning Xu’s Award-Winning Microscopy of Ciliary Motion in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Dr. Ning Xu, an optical-engineering researcher at Tsinghua University in Beijing, captured a ten-second video of airway cilia beating abnormally in a child diagnosed with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). The footage, recorded with diffractive super-resolution microscopy, earned first-place honors in the 16th annual Nikon Small World in Motion competition. PCD is a rare genetic disorder in which the hair-like cilia that line the respiratory tract fail to coordinate their waves, impairing mucus clearance and leading to chronic respiratory infections.

PetaPixel16th Annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition Winner Captures Abnormal Movement of Airway Cilia in a Child with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia CNN

The Nikon Small World in Motion contest, a video-focused extension of the long-running Nikon Small World photography competition, received 347 submissions from researchers in 40 countries. A panel of microscopy specialists selected the top five videos:

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• 1st place – Dr. Ning Xu (abnormal airway-cilia motion)

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• 2nd place – Nguyen Nam Nhat (tiny roundworm and single-celled Dileptus)

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• 3rd place – Benedikt Pleyer (jellyfish larvae in water droplets)

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• 4th place – Dr. Andrew Moore (synchronized cell division)

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• 5th place – Dr. Patrick Hickey (mitochondria and chloroplast dynamics in Turtle Vine leaf cells)

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Honorable mentions included videos of a pregnant tardigrade, a dung-cannon fungus, and actin-binding proteins in epithelial cells. All winning entries are publicly available on the competition’s website and YouTube channel.

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Airway cilia normally beat in coordinated waves to propel mucus and debris out of the lungs. Traditional static microscopy cannot convey the temporal dynamics of this defect; Dr. Xu emphasized that “to understand this disease, you need to watch the cilia through dozens of beat cycles, not just a still image.”

16th Annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition Winner Captures Abnormal Movement of Airway Cilia in a Child with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Recording living cilia at high resolution poses several challenges: the structures are sub-micron, their motion is rapid, and excessive illumination can damage cells. Dr. Xu’s team addressed these issues by shaping illumination with multiple light waves and a digital micromirror device, thereby minimizing light exposure while capturing rapid motion at super-resolution. The resulting video demonstrates how motion-based imaging can reveal disease-relevant biology that static images miss, offering a visual tool that may aid both research and clinical communication.

16th Annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition Winner Captures Abnormal Movement of Airway Cilia in a Child with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

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• “Xu’s work, and the work of all our winners, reflects the competition’s enduring purpose to inspire wonder, fuel discovery, and showcase the artistry inherent in scientific exploration,” — Eric Flem, senior manager, communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments

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• “To understand this disease, you need to watch the cilia through dozens of beat cycles, not just a still image,” — Dr. Xu, an optical engineer

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• “Dr. Ning Xu's winning video exemplifies why we introduced the video component of this competition 16 years ago: It allows us to use motion to transform our understanding of the microscopic world,” — Eric Flem, senior manager, communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments

16th Annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition Winner Captures Abnormal Movement of Airway Cilia in a Child with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

The full set of winning videos, including Dr. Xu’s ciliary footage, is hosted on the Nikon Small World in Motion website and the official YouTube channel, providing educators, researchers, and the public with ongoing access to the visual data.

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