Ning Xu of Tsinghua University wins Nikon’s Small World in Motion 2026 video contest for a microscopy film showing cilia beating in the airway of a child with a rare genetic respiratory disorder. Multiple outlets describe the video as capturing “dancing” or beating cilia that help move mucus and trapped particles in the respiratory tract.
The articles say Xu built an imaging system to record the specimen at high magnification, described as around 100x. TechRadar emphasizes the visual impact, calling the cilia motion “beautiful,” while Ars Technica focuses on identifying the winner and the biological target of the footage. Both sources frame the work as a microscopy imaging achievement, using specialized optics and imaging techniques to make small-scale cellular motion visible in motion-video format.
While the outlets highlight different aspects—one the contest result and artistry, the other the scientific subject and winner identity—they align on the core details: the contest, the winner, the airway cilia footage, and the context of a rare genetic condition being imaged.
