Nikon has disqualified the first-place winner of its 2026 Small World in Motion video competition, saying the entry broke the contest's rules on generative AI. The prize now goes to Nguyen Nam Nhat of Vietnam, for footage of a roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus.
It is a rare public reversal for one of the best-known scientific imaging contests in the world, and it was triggered by scientists who said the cells on screen did not look like real cells.
Quick facts
| Competition | Nikon Small World in Motion 2026 (16th edition), the video contest |
| Disqualified winner | Dr. Ning Xu, cilia in primary ciliary dyskinesia |
| Reason | "Did not comply with the competition rules regarding generative AI" |
| Announced | October 9, 2026 |
| New first place | Nguyen Nam Nhat, Vietnam |
| Photo contest | 2026 Photomicrography winners still pending |
What happened?
In September, Nikon named Dr. Ning Xu the winner for a video showing abnormal beating of airway cilia in tissue from a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a genetic condition that stops the airway's hair-like cilia from clearing mucus properly. Nikon Instruments' Eric Flem said at the time that the entry exemplified why the company introduced a video category 16 years ago.
Within days, scientists began questioning it. After the video appeared on the competition's LinkedIn page, now deleted, researchers told Nikon it looked computer-generated, according to the BBC. PetaPixel reported around October 1 that Nikon was re-reviewing the video.
On October 9, Nikon posted its decision. After "thoroughly re-evaluating the video and supporting materials and consulting with members of our judging panel," it said, the winning video "did not comply with the competition rules regarding generative AI." The entry was removed from the winners page and the rankings were adjusted.
How did scientists spot it?
Dr. Robert Hirst, a principal scientist in the University of Leicester's Division of Respiratory Sciences who has diagnosed PCD for 20 years, told the BBC he "knew immediately that the video was fabricated." The cells and cilia, he said, looked "nothing like" those of PCD patients.
Edward Phelps, an associate professor, wrote on LinkedIn that "purple structures pop in and out of existence" and that green cilia appear without explanation and don't match their known size, PetaPixel reported. Other scientists said the dispute could have been settled if the raw grayscale footage had been shared.
Gizmodo reported that the video also carried a SynthID watermark, the marker Google embeds in content made with its AI tools.
What does Ning Xu say?
Xu has said generative AI was used only in post-processing. According to CNN, as reported by Digital Camera World, he said AI was applied to grayscale images to visualize features below the cilia, not to reconstruct the underlying cells or organelles, and that he wanted the video to be "visually engaging as well as scientifically interesting." He said a detailed description of his optical system and a quantitative analysis of the ciliary motion are being prepared for publication.
Reports differ on his institutional affiliation, and he has not been accused of anything beyond breaking the contest's rules.
Nikon was careful on that point too. Its decision, it said, is "based solely on the submitted video's eligibility under the rules" and is not a judgment of the entrant's reputation, scientific contributions or intent.
Who won Small World in Motion 2026 now?
Nikon's revised top five:
| Place | Entrant | Subject | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nguyen Nam Nhat, Chu Se, Gia Lai, Vietnam | A tiny roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus | DIC, 40x |
| 2 | Benedikt Pleyer, Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany | Jellyfish larvae suspended in water droplets | Darkfield, 25x |
| 3 | Dr. Andrew Moore, HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Virginia, USA | Synchronized cell division in neighboring cells | Confocal, 63x |
| 4 | Dr. Patrick Hickey, Hypha Research, Edinburgh, UK | Mitochondria and chloroplasts in Turtle Vine leaf cells | Confocal, 40x |
| 5 | Dr. Igor Adameyko, Medical University of Vienna, Austria | A tiny, colorful sea slug on the move | Darkfield, 0.9x zoom to 40x |
Why it matters
Scientific imaging contests sit on a line between science and art, and AI tools make that line harder to police. Enhancement that makes a video easier to read can, if it invents detail, make it wrong, and in medical imaging a convincing wrong picture is worse than a plain one.
It also lands as AI-generated images are becoming a flashpoint across photography. Nikon itself said the case shows the need to revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future entries, without yet saying what will change. For more on the wider debate, see wildlife photographer Robert Irwin's warning that AI "takes away from the artistry of photography".
What to watch
The photomicrography winners. Nikon's still-image Small World competition, the older and better-known contest, has not announced its 2026 winners yet. Expect closer scrutiny of every entry.
New rules. Whether Nikon requires raw files, processing logs or disclosure of every tool used.
Xu's paper. If the promised technical publication appears, it may settle what the original footage actually showed.
Published Sunday, October 18, 2026. The decision and revised rankings are from Nikon Small World's statement of October 9. Accounts of the scientists' concerns are from the BBC, PetaPixel and Digital Camera World; Xu's comments are as reported by CNN and Digital Camera World.
