Magnified view of an embryonic gecko hand
A 63X magnification of an embryonic Madagascar giant day gecko’s (Phelsuma grandis) hand featuring neurons (cyan), bones (yellow), and ligaments (orange)
Grigorii Timin, courtesy of Nikon

Top honors at the 2022 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition went to Grigorii Timin, a genetics PhD student at the University of Geneva, for his image of the hand of an embryonic Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma grandis). The hand is only about 3 millimeters in length but required two days to fully image, highlighting the nerves in cyan, bones in yellow, and ligaments in orange.

“This particular image is beautiful and informative, as an overview and also when you magnify it in a certain region, shedding light on how the structures are organized on a cellular level,” Timin explained in a press release.