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)

Muharrem Yilmaz, 78, takes his dog “Toprak” to a scooter and a swing ride everyday in Aydin, Turkiye on June 14, 2024. Yilmaz started taking his dog to long scooter rides after realising it likes to play with his grandkids' scooter. Then, he made a swing out of fruit boxes for the dog. Yilmaz adopted his dog Toprak two years ago when he found it in a restaurant garden as a lost puppy. (Photo by Ferdi Uzun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Nessie, a California sea lion pup recently born at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, near Stirling, UK. Picture date: Thursday July 11, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)

English actress Jodie Comer attends The Olivier Awards 2023 after party at the Natural History Museum on April 2, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

Models pose during the Macgraw presentation show during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2023 on May 18, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images for AAFW)

A palm squirrel and ring-rosed parakeet compete for space on a stump in a residential area of Chandigarh, India in the last decade of August 2024. (Photo by Anuj Jain/Solent News)

A captive elephant is made to swim for visitors at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

A racegoer arrives for Ladies Day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting, at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England, Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)