“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)

A Russian soldier takes part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia, Wednesday, December 22, 2021. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that Russian and U.S. negotiators will sit down for talks early next year to discuss Moscow's demand for Western guarantees precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

In this fur-ocious fight, two fox twins have been spotted locking paws as this sibling rivalry spirals into an epic brawl in London in the last decade of August 2023. (Photo by Anthony Cunningham/Caters News Agency)

A Christmas boot and gifts featuring the image of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump are displayed ahead of Trump's campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa on December 19, 2023. (Photo by Scott Morgan/Reuters)

Members of the Washington Wizards Dancers dance during a timeout against the Utah Jazz in the second quarter at Capital One Arena in Washington, District of Columbia on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)

Masked dancers perform a ritualistic dance at Kathmandu Durbar Square during the procession of erecting a sacred pole locally called “Ya: Shi”, marking the formal start of Indra Jatra dedicated to rain god Indra in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Leopard seal chasing a Gentoo penguin in Antarctica. This image wins the gold prize in the behaviour – mammals category, and the grand prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year. (Photo by Amos Nachoum/World Nature Photography Awards)

A person dressed as an astronaut is seen at a metro station in Istanbul, Turkey on December 6, 2021. A man with an astronaut outfit walked around the city's metro stations as part of the promotion of NASA Space Exhibition, which reflects 50 years of space studies and experiences of the NASA, to be opened at Metropol Istanbul Mall. (Photo by Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)