Nikon Disqualifies Winning Microscopy Video for Using Generative AI

Nikon has disqualified the first-place entry in its Small World in Motion video competition after determining that generative AI was used in its creation, violating competition rules. Dr. Ning Xu of Tsinghua University in China had won with a video showing cilia—tiny hair-like structures—moving in the airway of a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a rare respiratory disorder. Following an investigation prompted by concerns raised by other scientists, Nikon announced the disqualification on October 9, 2026, and named Nguyen Nam Nhat of Vietnam as the new first-place winner for his video of a roundworm and single-celled organism.

Scientists flagged structural abnormalities in Xu's video, noting that cell features appeared and disappeared in ways inconsistent with actual cellular biology. Some researchers identified what appeared to be AI watermarks in the source files. Dr. Robert Hirst, a University of Leicester scientist and former competition judge who specializes in diagnosing PCD, stated he knew "immediately that the video was fabricated" and noted the cells and cilia "look nothing like those from PCD patients." Xu acknowledged using AI for post-processing, stating in a LinkedIn comment that an "unsupervised neural-network method was subsequently used for AI-assisted post-processing to distinguish and visualize features in the reconstructed grayscale images," but he denied that AI was used to generate the experimental movie, cilia, or their motion.

Nikon emphasized that the disqualification "should not be interpreted as a judgment of the entrant's professional reputation, scientific contributions, or intent." The company said it came to the decision "after thoroughly re-evaluating the video and supporting materials and consulting with members of our judging panel." Following the incident, Nikon announced plans to "revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future competition entries." Other winners in the competition advanced in ranking as a result: Benedikt Pleyer of Bavaria, Germany moved to second place with a video of jellyfish larvae; Andrew Moore of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute moved to third with synchronized cell division footage; Patrick Hickey of Hypha Research Ltd. in Edinburgh moved to fourth with mitochondria and chloroplast dynamics; and Igor Adameyko moved to fifth with a video of a colorful sea slug.

The Small World in Motion competition, founded in 2011 as a spinoff of Nikon's Small World Photomicrography Competition (established in 1974), is designed to showcase the complexity of microscopic life through videography. The incident has drawn attention from the scientific community, with Dr. Hirst noting the controversy "has impacted a lot of patients, scientists, doctors and PCD support networks around the world."