The winning entry of a prestigious scientific photography competition is undergoing re-evaluation following accusations from other scientists that artificial intelligence was improperly used to create or enhance the submission.
Nikon's annual Small World In Motion contest showcases photographs and videos captured through powerful microscopes and has operated continuously for 15 years. The 2026 edition attracted 347 entries from 40 countries.
The winning video was submitted by Dr Ning Xu, a researcher at Tsinghua University in China. His entry depicts cilia—tiny, hair-like cellular structures—moving within the airways of a child with a rare disease. The footage was recorded in December 2025 using the fifth iteration of an imaging system Xu developed over several years beginning in 2021.
What are the allegations against the winning entry?
Several scientists have publicly questioned whether the video meets the competition's standards. Edward Phelps, an associate professor at Florida University, noted in comments on Nikon's social media that certain structures "pop in and out of existence" and cilia "appear from nowhere." Ian Donovan, a PhD student at UT Southwestern Medical Centre, claimed the source image contained a distinctive watermark indicating AI generation. Two former competition judges have also expressed concerns about the authenticity of the submission.
The video displays artificially bright colouration—a standard practice in microscopy that is typically achieved through manual staining and dyes applied to samples. This technique is permitted under contest rules.
What does the winner say about AI use?
Xu has not responded to requests for comment from a national broadcaster, but posted online to deny breaking competition rules. In a response to a post by Nikon on LinkedIn, he acknowledged using AI in image processing while maintaining compliance with contest guidelines.
"AI was not used to generate the experimental movie, the cilia, or their motion," he stated.
Xu confirmed that AI was employed "to distinguish and visualize features in the reconstructed grayscale images." According to reporting on the controversy, Xu's workflow used diffractive super-resolution microscopy to produce grayscale data, followed by an unsupervised neural network for post-processing and visualization.
What is Nikon's position on the controversy?
Nikon stated that Xu was "respectfully complying" with its investigation and had provided additional technical documents for review. The organisation initially said it did not believe any rules had been violated. However, Nikon subsequently updated the winning entry's caption to disclose AI use in post-processing and described the video as a "rendition". The company confirmed it was reinvestigating and re-evaluating the entry.
Why does this matter to other competitors?
Dr Patrick Hickey, who placed fifth in the 2026 Small World contest, emphasised that the award's prestige carries greater significance than its monetary value.
"If you spend a lot of your time in a dark room looking down a microscope, it's really nice to be able to show people and to show the public," he said.
"There's an interesting fusion between science and art, and a lot of the images that scientists are making have some very abstract and artistic qualities to them."
Hickey argued that fairness to other entrants demands clarity on whether the winning video received unfair AI enhancement.
"There's a specific set of rules in the contest, and one of them was quite clearly that you couldn't use generative AI to produce things, and the other was obviously that it has to be taken under a microscope," he said.
The broader concern reflects a growing tension in scientific imaging. Experts argue that scientific images function as data rather than mere illustrations, and that audiences must have confidence in the integrity of underlying measurements. This principle underpins the credibility of visual evidence in research.
What happens next?
The next Small World in Motion winners are expected to be announced on or around October 15, 2027, with the entry period running through April 30, 2027. Nikon has indicated that further updates regarding its investigation will be released soon.
Key Facts:
- The 2026 Small World In Motion contest received 347 entries from 40 countries
- Dr Ning Xu's winning video depicts cilia movement in a child with a rare airway disease, recorded using an imaging system developed over five iterations since 2021
- Xu acknowledged using AI for post-processing and visualisation but denied using generative AI to create the video or cellular structures
- Nikon's rules explicitly prohibit AI-generated videos and permit only AI-assisted enhancement of microscopy source data
- The investigation centres on whether the submission complies with contest guidelines or represents impermissible AI generation
