Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

Lioness and hyena posture to one another, in Masai Mara, Kenya, August 2015. A photographer captured one of the oldest rivalries in the animal kingdom as a pair of lions went head to head with a pack of hungry hyenas. (Photo by Ingo Gerlach/Barcroft Images)

The pack of riders makes its way past Didi Senft, a cycling enthusiast better known as “El Diablo” (The Devil), during the twelfth 218km stage of the centenary Tour de France cycling race from Fougeres to Tours July 11, 2013. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)

German fan Didi Senft known as El Diablo cheers as the pack rides past during the 234.5 km seventh stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 11, 2014 between Epernay and Nancy, northeastern France. (Photo by Lionel Bonaventure/AFP Photo)

High waves batter a breakwater at a port at Kihou town in Mie prefecture, central Japan on October 6, 2014. Strong typhoon Phanfone slammed into Japan, packing gusts and huge waves that have already swept three US military officials out to sea, as it made a beeline for Tokyo. (Photo by AFP Photo/Jiji Press)

People cheer as the ball drops at midnight in Times Square on January 1, 2015 in New York City. An estimated one million people from around the world are expected to pack Times Square to ring in 2015. (Photo by Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)

One of the busiest areas in Birmingham, United Kingdom last night was Ludgate Hill in the city's Jewellery Quarter. Brits enjoying the hottest August day for almost 20 years spilled out of packed pubs on August 7, 2020 after sunbathing on beaches around the country as the mercury rose to 36.4C. (Photo by SnapperSK/The Sun)

Thousands of bright Red Potatoes are washed and sorted at a vegetable market. Workers hose down tons of the vegetables before packing them into sacks at the market in Shibganj Upazila, Bogura, Bangladesh on February 19, 2023. The Red La Soda spuds are then taken to the country's capital Dhaka. (Photo by Mustasinur Rahman Alvi/Rex Features/Shutterstock)