Beautiful, strange and occasionally alarming pictures from the shortlist for this year’s Wellcome image awards – which celebrate the very best in science photography and imaging – from an x-ray of a bat to a micrograph of a kidney stone. The exhibition opens on 12 March at three science centres and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photo: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x. (Photo by Stefan Eberhard/Wellcome Images)

French model Iris Mittenaere attends the screening of “Final Cut (Coupez!)” and opening ceremony red carpet for the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 17, 2022 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

French actress Pom Klementieff (L), Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman (C) and US actress Tessa Thompson pose on the red carpet on arrival to attend the UK Gala Screening of the film “Thor: Love and Thunder”, at the Odeon Luxe in London on July 5, 2022. (Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP Photo)

Head coach Kim Mulkey of the LSU Lady Tigers enters the stadium on the red carpet before playing against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Center on April 02, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Miss Japan, Juri Watanabe, appears on stage during the national costume presentation of the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel's southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 10, 2021. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

Maura Higgins turns up the heat in red hot Christmas lingerie and kinky thigh-high boots. The reality star, who appeared on UK Love Island in 2019, posed in skimpy underwear from Ann Summers in December 2021. (Photo by Instagram)

General view at the Red Bull Music Academy x Mangrove float at Notting Hill Carnival on August 28, 2017 in London, England. The Notting Hill Carnival has taken place since 1966 and now has an attendance of over two million people. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for RedBull)

A couple covered in mud wait for it to dry at the Salt-works lakes near the Black Sea town of Burgas in Bulgaria on July 25, 2019. Thousands of tourists visit the red salt lakes for mud baths, which are believed to help the healing of muscular disorders and rheumatism. (Photo by Nikolay Doychinov/AFP Photo)