The announcement of the winner of Nikon’s ‘Small World’ photomicrography competition last month reminded us of the beauty to be found in the (very) small components that make up our world. The company has been running this competition annually for over thirty years, and the high caliber of the entries over the years has made its publication of each new year’s photographs an eagerly anticipated event. This year’s memorable images included a flowering plant anther, an anglerfish ovary and a rusted old coin. The special thing about these and all the other images is that they belong to the field of photomicrography – that is, photographs taken through a microscope. In general, it is a way for scientists to do something a bit different and act as artists (not an unusual occurrence, see our past post on the relationship between Art and Science) but it also [...]