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11 Spectacular Photos That Make Microscopic Realm Look Enormous, Beautiful

LOOK: 11 Spectacular Photos That Make Tiny World VERY Big
By 

Senior Science Editor, The Huffington Post

The world looks a lot different through a microscope. For instance, the trap of a carnivorous plant is truly terrifying. Baby box bugs are absolutely adorable. And who knew a bat embryo could play "peek-a-boo?"

Each of these images is a winner in the 2013 Olympus Bioscapes Digital Imaging Competition. The images were judged according to three criteria: the uniqueness of the specimen shown; the aesthetic beauty; how difficult capturing the image must have been. Here are the top 10 images in reverse order -- scroll down for the winner!

10
Paramecium -- a one-celled organism that lives in fresh water. Photo by Ralph Grimm
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
9
Head and legs of a caddisfly larva -- a European and North American genus of insects whose larvae live in fresh water, in gravel, stones or sand. Photo by Fabrice Parais
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
8
Mouse tail -- with hair follicle stem cells. Photo by Dr. Yaron Fuchs
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
7
Phantom midge larva -- Chaoborus, also known as "Glassworm." Photo by Charles Krebs
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
6
Brother bugs -- two box bugs, Gonocerus acuteangulatus, at just two hours old. Photo by Kurt Wirz
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
5
Mouse cells -- embryonic fibroblasts showing the actin filaments (red) and DNA (blue). Photo by Dr. Dylan Burnette
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
4
Lily flower -- stained transverse section of the flower bud. Photo by Spike Walker
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
3
Green algae -- this composite image shows a collection of single-cell freshwater algae, called Desmids. Photo by Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
2
Bat embryo -- this micrograph shows a black mastiff bat embryo (Molossus rufus), at the "Peek-a-boo" stage of development, when its wings have grown to cover its eyes. Photo by Dorit Hockman
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition
1
Carnivorous plant -- open trap of the aquatic carnivorous plant humped bladderwort (Utricularia gibba). Photo by Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, a neurobiologist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus
2013 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition

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Before You Go

Carbajo Maria / FEI
Spider SkinFEI
Ken Bart / FEI
CaterpillarFEI
Maria Carbajo, FEI
Ground coffeeFEI
Gerald Poirier / FEI
DandelionsFEI
Nayely Pineda / FEI
Fruit FlyFEI
Maksim Kalienko / FEI
Aluminium FractureFEI
Ken Bart / FEI
Tomato LeafFEI
Wadah Mahmoud / FEI
Penicillium Fungus of BreadFEI
Alexander Kraft / FEI
Stoma of a Potato LeafFEI
Valerie Lynch-Holm / FEI
Embedded TickFEI
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