Loading...
Done
With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)
Details
08 Mar 2017 00:05:00
An Afghan boy plays in the ruins of a house that at one point belonged to the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 25, 2015. (Photo by Farshad Usyan/AFP Photo)

An Afghan boy plays in the ruins of a house that at one point belonged to the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 25, 2015. (Photo by Farshad Usyan/AFP Photo)
Details
26 Jan 2016 11:52:00
In this photo taken Tuesday, February 2, 2016, asylum seekers gather round a fire as they cook a meal overlooking the temporary Altnes camp refugee camp on the island of Seiland, northern Norway. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

In this photo taken Tuesday, February 2, 2016, asylum seekers gather round a fire as they cook a meal overlooking the temporary Altnes camp refugee camp on the island of Seiland, northern Norway. Waiting for their asylum claims to be processed, hundreds of people in emergency shelters in Hammerfest and neighboring towns are slowly getting used to the extreme climate and unfamiliar customs of the High North. They say they have adapted to the cold – the temperature rarely drops below minus 10 degrees C (14 F) along the coast, though it gets much colder further inland. It’s the darkness that throws them off. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)
Details
18 Feb 2016 13:22:00
A farmer harvests broccoli in the town of al-Ansariyeh south of Sidon, Lebanon March 15, 2016. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

A farmer harvests broccoli in the town of al-Ansariyeh south of Sidon, Lebanon March 15, 2016. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)
Details
04 Apr 2016 11:11:00
People walk during a polluted day in Shenyang, Liaoning province, March 31, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

People walk during a polluted day in Shenyang, Liaoning province, March 31, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)
Details
18 Apr 2016 10:12:00
In this August 17, 2016, photo, from left to right, Chhering Chodom, 60, Tashi Yangzom, 50, Lobsang Chhering, 27, and Dorje Tandup, 58, drink milk tea on the side of the road. For centuries, the sleepy valley nestled in the Indian Himalayas remained a hidden Buddhist enclave forbidden to outsiders. Enduring the harsh year-round conditions of the high mountain desert, the people of Spiti Valley lived by a simple communal code – share the Earth's bounty, be hospitable to neighbors, and eschew greed and temptation at all turns. That's all starting to change, for better or worse. Since India began allowing its own citizens as well as outsiders to visit the valley in the early 1990s, tourism and trade have boomed. And the marks of modernization, such as solar panels, asphalt roads and concrete buildings, have begun to appear around some of the villages that dot the remote landscape at altitudes above 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). (Photo by Thomas Cytrynowicz/AP Photo)

In this August 17, 2016, photo, from left to right, Chhering Chodom, 60, Tashi Yangzom, 50, Lobsang Chhering, 27, and Dorje Tandup, 58, drink milk tea on the side of the road. For centuries, the sleepy valley nestled in the Indian Himalayas remained a hidden Buddhist enclave forbidden to outsiders. Enduring the harsh year-round conditions of the high mountain desert, the people of Spiti Valley lived by a simple communal code – share the Earth's bounty, be hospitable to neighbors, and eschew greed and temptation at all turns. That's all starting to change, for better or worse. (Photo by Thomas Cytrynowicz/AP Photo)
Details
15 Sep 2016 09:22:00
A Ukrainian serviceman fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun during military exercises near the village of Divychky in Kiev region, Ukraine, October 21, 2016. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

A Ukrainian serviceman fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun during military exercises near the village of Divychky in Kiev region, Ukraine, October 21, 2016. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
Details
14 Dec 2016 07:50:00
Selfie picture shows Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard during the last leg of the round the world trip with Solar Impulse 2 over the Arab peninsula July 25, 2016. (Photo by Jean Revillard/Bertrand Piccard/Reuters/SI2)

Selfie picture shows Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard during the last leg of the round the world trip with Solar Impulse 2 over the Arab peninsula July 25, 2016. (Photo by Jean Revillard/Bertrand Piccard/Reuters/SI2)
Details
27 Jul 2016 09:18:00