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)

This July 2014 image provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows the interior of the Natural Trap Cave in north-central Wyoming. The cave holds the remains of tens of thousands of animals, including many now-extinct species, from the late Pleistocene period tens of thousands of years ago. Scientists have resumed digging for the first time in more than 30 years. (Photo by AP Photo/Bureau of Land Management)

Tourists pay a visit to Edradour distillery on March 26, 2012 in Pitlochry, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A resident brings his dog that uses a mask in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Jefta Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Women are pictured wearing a protective face mask and face shield as the Indonesian government eases restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 8, 2020. (Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)

A model has her hair sprayed backstage at the Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 31, 2020. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Yanira Villarreal, left, Ayde Choque, center, and Milenda Limachi, wearings masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic and dressed as a “Cholita” pose for a photo with their skateboards during a youth talent show in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Young women called “Skates Imillas”, using the Aymara word for girl Imilla, use traditional Indigenous clothing as a statement of pride of their Indigenous culture while playing riding their skateboards. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

Elephants forage for food at a rubbish dump encroaching on their jungle habitat in Oluvil, Sri Lanka in September 2020. Examination of dead elephants has revealed undigested polythene and other plastic waste. (Photo by Tharmaplan Tilaxan/Cover Images)