Since it opened for photo submissions in 1974, the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition has offered such images of the hidden (to us) world of nature, cells, minerals and more in mesmerizing detail. This year, some 1,900 photos were submitted from 72 countries and then judged by five experts in both photography and science.

The photos are not just works of colorful art. In some cases, they help understand a disease. The top award for 2023, for instance, went to Hassanain Qambari, assisted by Jayden Dickson of the Lions Eye Institute in Perth, Australia, for a microscopic image of a rodent optic nerve head. For the past few years, Qambari has focused his research on diabetic retinopathy, which can cause blurry vision or blindness and affects 1 in 5 people with diabetes.

“Current diagnostic criteria and treatment regimens for diabetic retinopathy are limited to the late-stage appearance of the disease, with irreversible damage to retinal microvasculature and function,” Qambari said in a news release. He hopes his image will aid in the early detection and reversal of the disease.

Second-place winner Ole Bielfeldt captured the moment when the tip of a match, striking across a matchbox, begins to ignite. Third place, by Malgorzata Lisowska, is a deceptively lovely photo of breast cancer cells.