Ning Xu, an optical engineer from Tsinghua University in Beijing, has won Nikon's Small World in Motion competition with a super-resolution video of abnormal cilia movement in a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic respiratory disorder. His entry triumphed over 346 submissions from 40 countries, showcasing how advanced microscopy and videography can reveal the beauty and complexity of microscopic biological processes in ways that still images cannot.

The competition, founded in 2011 as an offshoot of Nikon's photomicrography competition dating back to 1974, drew entries from researchers worldwide. Xu employed diffractive super-resolution microscopy, which uses multiple light waves and a digital micromirror to precisely shape light, allowing him to capture rapid cilia movement at high resolution without damaging living tissue. Primary ciliary dyskinesia affects the hairlike structures lining the lungs; in affected individuals, these cilia fail to move properly, causing irritants to accumulate and leading to respiratory infections. Other notable entries included videos of a roundworm and single-celled organism (Vietnam), jellyfish larvae (Germany), synchronised cell division (US), and mitochondrial dynamics (Scotland).