Nikon strips Tsinghua scientist of 2026 microscopy video prize over AI rules

Nikon has revoked the first-place award given to Dr. Ning Xu of Tsinghua University in its 2026 Small World in Motion microscopy video competition, saying the submission violated the contest's rules on generative AI.

Xu's video, which used super-resolution microscopy to depict abnormal cilia movement in the respiratory tract of a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), drew scrutiny from researchers in microscopy and cilia studies. They noted that some purple structures in the video appeared and disappeared suddenly, some green cilia seemed to appear out of nowhere, and the dimensions of certain structures did not match known biological features. Xu acknowledged using AI to distinguish and visualize features in raw grayscale microscopy images, saying he believed the practice complied with the rules. He denied using AI to generate the video itself, the cilia structures or the motion. After a re-investigation, Nikon determined the work did not meet its generative AI requirements and disqualified it.

As a result, the runner-up, Vietnamese entrant Nguyen Nam Nhat, was promoted to champion. His winning video documents the interaction between a tiny roundworm and the single-celled organism Dileptus in the microscopic world. Other finalists were moved up accordingly.