Tiny image sparks big backlash in Nikon photo contest

But the challenges made by other scientists include claims that the video contains shapes and movements which did not fit with normal cell structures or behaviours, and that the cilia seemed to be too big.Commenting on Nikon's social media post, Edward Phelps, associate professor at Florida University, observed some of the structures "pop in and out of existence" and the cilia "appear from nowhere".Meanwhile PhD student Ian Donovan from UT Southwestern Medical Centre said the source image appeared to contain a distinctive watermark indicating it had been AI generated.Additionally, two former competition judges said they also had concerns about whether the image was real.'Respectfully complying'Nikon said Xu was "respectfully complying" with its investigation and had provided it with additional technical documents.Dr Patrick Hickey, who came fifth in the 2026 Small World contest, said the recognition the award represents means more than the $3,000 (£2,250) prize itself."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.