“Microscope images forge an extraordinary bond between science and art, said Hidenao Tsuchiya, Olympus America's Vice President and General Manager for the Scientific Equipment Group. We founded this competition to focus on the fascinating stories coming out of today's life science research laboratories. The thousands of images that people have shared with the competition over the years reflect some of the most exciting work going on in research today – work that can help shed light on the living universe and ultimately save lives. We look at BioScapes and these beautiful images as sources of education and inspiration to us and the world”. – OlympusBioScapes

Photo: Pretarsus of the third leg of a female drone fly (Eristalis tenax), ventral view, by Dr. Jan Michels, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. (Photo by Olympus BioScapes)

Clown/comedian/filmmaker Pierre Etaix attends The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' Presents “Pierre Etaix: The Laughter Returns” at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 16, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Women take part in an annual block party known as “Banda do Candinho e Mulatas” (Candinho Band and Mulatto Women), during carnival festivities at Bixiga neighbourhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 7, 2018. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Fallen leaves cover the undergrowth as a commuter on a bicycle makes her way through the Tiergarten park in central Berlin on December 7, 2020. (Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP Photo)

Women stage a topless protest in Buenos Aires, Argentina on February 7, 2017. Activists take to streets of downtown after three women had been topless sunbathing on Necochea, near Buenos Aires, when they were approached by officers that told to cover their breasts. The sunbathers and officers argue, with the girls insisting going topless is not illegal, but the police insist they are offending the local culture. This protest is in support of the three women of Necochea. (Photo by Claudio Santisteban/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Fans dressed in Spider-Man outfits gather at a promotional event for the forthcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming” movie at the Art Science Museum in Singapore on June 7, 2017. The movie will be shown in cinemas around the world from July 5 onwards. (Photo by Toh Ting Wei/AFP Photo)

A large brawl breaks out as people leave the track after Sydney Racing at Rosehill Gardens on December 07, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Britain's Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock wears Union Jack socks as he leaves with Britain's Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Evans after a cabinet meeting on Downing Street in London, Britain on January 7, 2020. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)