内容来源：https://www.quantamagazine.org/see-inside-cells-like-never-before-in-these-vivid-microscopic-images-20261021/

内容总结：

尼康显微摄影大赛揭晓微观世界震撼图像

在苏格兰爱丁堡一个寒冷的二月清晨，真菌学家帕特里克·希基苦于找不到可置于显微镜下的活体样本——花园里的植物和真菌已枯萎，夏季水洼中那些生物多样性丰富的水体也早已冻结。在为研究线粒体而准备芥菜籽新样本的间隙，他在厨房煮咖啡时注意到窗台上悬挂的一株耐寒龟藤。“我剪了大约一英寸，揣进口袋带进实验室，看到镜下的景象时完全被震撼了，”希基回忆道。显微镜下，线粒体在细胞中飞速穿梭，灵巧地绕过运动较慢的叶绿体，犹如摩托车手在车流中穿行。“整个画面充满活力，”他说。他拍摄的这段显微舞蹈延时视频在2026年尼康“运动中的微观世界”大赛中获奖，揭示了两种细胞器之间的紧密协作：叶绿体（红色）将阳光转化为糖分，线粒体（绿色）则将糖分转化为能量。

尼康微观世界大赛创办于1974年，旨在表彰显微摄影领域的卓越成就。一年一度的赛事不仅记录了创意显微摄影的发展历程，也见证了成像技术的进步。希基及本次展示的众多获奖者均借助了共聚焦激光扫描显微技术。与一次性照亮整个样本、容易产生模糊图像的传统显微镜不同，共聚焦显微镜逐层聚焦。研究人员先用荧光染料对样本中特定结构进行“标记”，激光照射样本的薄层，显微镜检测产生的荧光信号，逐行扫描后构建出精细图像。

随着成像技术的进步，人类对细胞过程的理解也不断深化。希基的视频表明，线粒体比此前认为的更具动态性，这意味着它们“不仅仅是‘细胞的能量工厂’”，他说，“它们很可能参与细胞质流动、信号传导以及与其它细胞器的相互作用。”

中文翻译：

以前所未有的方式观察细胞：这些生动的显微图像令人惊叹

凯林·伍尔夫、雷切尔·弗兰纳里/艾伦研究所；所有图片由尼康小世界提供

在苏格兰爱丁堡一个寒冷的二月早晨，帕特里克·希基已经找不到活物放在显微镜下了。他花园里的植物和真菌都已干枯，夏季水洼中那些绚丽多姿的生物复杂性早已冻结成冰。

希基是Hypha Research Ltd.的真菌学家，他正利用植物叶片研究线粒体——这种细胞器负责为细胞提供能量。他计划培育一些芥菜种子以获得新鲜样本，但他等不及了。在厨房煮咖啡时，他注意到窗台上垂着一株耐寒的龟藤。“我剪了大约一英寸，揣进口袋，带进实验室，然后就被眼前的景象震惊了，”希基说。

显微镜下，线粒体在细胞中飞速穿梭。它们灵活地绕过运动较慢的叶绿体，就像摩托车手在车流中穿行。“整个画面充满了活力，”希基说。

他拍摄的这段显微之舞的延时视频，正是我们下方画廊的开篇之作，最近在尼康2026年“运动中的小世界”竞赛中获奖。视频揭示了这两种细胞器之间的紧密合作关系：叶绿体（红色）将阳光转化为糖分，线粒体（绿色）则将糖分转化为能量。

尼康小世界竞赛创办于1974年，旨在表彰显微摄影领域的卓越成就。这些年度赛事不仅记录了创意显微摄影的演变历程，也见证了成像技术的进步。

希基——以及本文中许多其他获奖者——借助的是一种名为共聚焦激光扫描显微术的技术。

与一次性照亮整个样本、可能产生模糊图像的标准显微镜不同，共聚焦显微镜每次只聚焦于一个深度层面。研究人员首先用荧光染料对样本进行“标记”，这些染料会附着在细胞内的特定结构上。随后，激光照亮样本的一个薄层，显微镜检测产生的荧光信号。系统逐行扫描，构建出精细的图像。

随着成像技术的进步，我们对细胞过程的理解也在不断深入。希基的视频表明，线粒体比此前认为的更具动态性，这意味着它们“不仅仅是‘细胞的发电站’”，他说，“它们很可能参与细胞质流动、信号传导以及与其他细胞器的相互作用。”

摄影竞赛的完整获奖名单可在此处查看，视频竞赛的名单可在此处查看。我们挑选了若干获奖者和荣誉提名作品进行展示，它们揭示了细胞世界的精妙复杂之处。

弗朗西斯科·拉萨罗-迭格斯/阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦医学院

皮埃尔·努奥、洛朗·科贾巴希安安、卡米尔·布坦/图卢兹综合生物学中心

英文来源：

See Inside Cells Like Never Before in These Vivid Microscopic Images
Kaelin Wulf, Rachel Flannery/Allen Institute; all photos courtesy of Nikon Small World
On a frigid February morning in Edinburgh, Scotland, Patrick Hickey had run out of living things to put under his microscope. The plants and fungi in his garden had dried up, and summer puddles, with their flamboyant biological complexity, had long frozen over.
Hickey, a mycologist at Hypha Research Ltd., was using plant leaves to study mitochondria, cellular organelles that generate energy. He was planning to sprout mustard seeds for fresh samples, but he was impatient. While making coffee in his kitchen, he noticed a cold-hardy turtle vine hanging from the windowsill. “I snipped off an inch or so, put it in my pocket, took it into the lab, and was just amazed at what I saw,” Hickey said.
Under the microscope, mitochondria darted around the cells. They nimbly maneuvered around slower chloroplasts, like motorcyclists dodging traffic. “It was absolutely alive with activity,” Hickey said.
His time-lapse video of this microscopic dance, which leads our gallery below and was recently honored in Nikon’s 2026 Small World in Motion Competition, reveals the close partnership between the organelles: chloroplasts (red) spin sunlight into sugar, and mitochondria (green) convert sugar into energy.
The Nikon Small World competition, established in 1974, honors excellence in microscopy. The annual contests have charted not only the evolution of creative photomicrography but also the progress of imaging technology.
Hickey — and many of the other honorees featured here — relied on a technique called confocal laser scanning microscopy.
Unlike a standard microscope, which illuminates an entire sample at once and can produce blurry images, a confocal microscope focuses on one depth level at a time. Researchers first “label” a sample with fluorescent dyes that attach to specific structures within the cell. A laser then illuminates a thin layer of the sample, and the microscope detects the resulting fluorescence. Scanning line by line, the system builds a detailed image.
As imaging technology advances, so too does our understanding of cellular processes. Hickey’s video shows that mitochondria are more dynamic than previously thought, which suggests that they are “more than just a ‘powerhouse of the cell,’” he said. “They are likely involved in cytoplasmic streaming, signaling, and interactions with other organelles.”
The full list of awardees can be found here for the photo contest and here for the video contest. We’ve chosen to feature a several winners and honorable mentions that reveal the intricacies of the cellular world.
Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Pierre Nouaux, Laurent Kodjabachianan, Camille Boutin/Center for Integrative Biology in Toulouse