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)

John Malkovich as Marilyn Monroe in a re-creation of Andy Warhol's 1962 painting. The image is a part of the series, “The Malkovich Sessions”, by photographer Sandro Miller and on display at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago. Miller wanted to pay homage to the artists who influence his photographic career, and approached Malkovich with the idea of re-creating the famous portraits. (Photo by Sandro Miller/Catherine Edelman Gallery)

The Baby Nager dragon, from DreamWorks’ new “How to Train Your Dragon” Live Spectacular touring musical, shows off it’s colors outside of the New York Public Library. (Photo by Mark Von Holden)

A team of female swimmers wearing facekini pose on beach by the sea on August 18, 2020 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. (Photo by Qian Han/VCG via Getty Images)

A man runs to help a woman as they attempt to shelter in a locked convenience store during heavy wind and rain as typhoon Maysak hits the Haeundae Beach area of Busan, South Korea, on September 3, 2020. Flights were grounded in South Korea and storm warnings issued on both sides of the Korean peninsula as a typhoon forecast to be one of the most powerful in years made its approach. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

A woman looks at an artwork during the preview of the Art Paris 2020 held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, September 9, 2020. Originally scheduled for April, Art Paris, France's second-biggest modern and contemporary art fair, opens its door to the public from Sept. 10 to 13. (Photo by Chine Nouvelle/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Russian people walk during heavy rain in Moscow, Russia on 17 September 2020. Over two hours a third of the monthly average rainfall fell in Moscow. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

Bystanders look at MV Wakashio bulk carrier that had run aground and from which oil is leaking near Blue Bay Marine Park in south-east Mauritius on August 6, 2020. The carrier, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, ran aground on July 25 and its crew was evacuated safely. The ship was empty at the time but was carrying 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,800 tonnes of bunker fuel, according to the local press. (Photo by Dev Ramkhelawon/L'Express Maurice/AFP Photo)