Meerkats are weighed and measured during the ZSL London Zoo 's annual weigh-in on August 22, 2012 in London, England. The height and mass of every animal in the zoo, of which there are over 16,000, needs to be recorded. The measurements are collated in the Zoological Information Management System, from which zoologists can use the data to compare information on thousands of endangered species. (Photo by Oli Scarff)

Using acrylic paint, 19-year old Japanese student and artist Chooo-San has transformed the bodies of herself and a handful of lucky volunteers into ones that appear to be from another planet. Bored with technology, she wanted to see how far she could go with creating eye-catching illusions in the real world, rather than relying on programs like Photoshop.

SEE ALSO: «A frightening-realistic Body Art by Chooo-San»

“Rescuers were digging through mud and debris Friday to retrieve more bodies strewn across a farming valley in the southern Philippines by a powerful typhoon. The death toll from the storm has surpassed 500, with more than 400 people missing”. – Bullit Marquez via Associated Press

Photo: Children look at the a damaged road destroyed by flash floods at the height of Typhoon Bopha in the village of Andap, New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province, December 5, 2012. (Photo by Ted Aljibe)

“Anastasiya Shpagina is one of the famous women who have transformed themselves into looking like human dolls. Hailing from Ukraine, 19-year-old Anastasiya Shpagina always loved Japanese cartoon characters, and has dreamed of becoming a living doll that appears in animes. She transformed her look into something that can be seen in the pages of a manga book”.

Photo: “Human Anime Doll” Anastasiya Shpagina (R) with “Human Barbie Doll” Valeria Lukyanova. (Photo by Anastasiya Shpagina & Valeria Lukyanova)

“These stunning ultra-high speed photos of water droplets were captured by photographer, Ronny Tertnes, 48, from Bergen, Norway. They show the water’s displacement as various liquids are being dropped in. Ronny, who works full time as an IT administrator, set up his camera and flash rigs to capture the exact moment a droplet hit the surface, sometimes causing several drops to collide into each other”. – TwoByTwoEditorial.co.uk. (Photo by Ronny Tertnes/TwoByTwoEditorial.co.uk)

With more than 40,000 followers on Twitter and 26,400 fans on Vine, it looks like Marutaro the hedgehog from Japan is one of the most popular hedgehogs on the Internet. And as his owner keeps on posting Marutaro’s pictures online daily, Marutaro’s popularity continues to grow. There are hundreds of cute photographs and videos of this little fellow, but the ones with little paper cut-out faces are probably the cutest. As Marutaro lies on his back, his owner gives him a variety of silly expressions and smiles. The 20 best of them will definitely boost your mood!

Inspired by personal experiences, a mix of cultures, rituals, and travelling the world, artist Jim Skull creates elaborate woven skull sculptures. He likes to be referred to as Jim Skull as a reflection of his interest in skulls; a symbol that he has been working with since the 1980s. He is currently living in France where he creates beautifully crafted sculptures out of rope, Papier-mâché, and other natural materials. He was born in New Caledonia and there’s no doubt that the influences of the tribal arts from Oceania, Africa, and North America are evident within his technique.

Where Children Sleep – stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms by James Mollison. This is a selection from the 56 diptychs in the book (Chris Boot November 2010). The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds‘ intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience.