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)
A tamed hawk sits on a chair next to a participant during a traditional hunting contest in Almaty, Kazakhstan on December 1, 2018. (Photo by Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)
Mave Grace, 11, who had part of her arm chopped off by militiamen when they attacked the village of Tchee, stands with her sister Racahele-Ngabausi, aged two, in an Internally Displaced Camp in Bunia, Ituri province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, April 12, 2018. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
A 40-tonne humpback launching out of the water in an incredible breach in New South Wales, Australia on October 2022 in front of a sunset. The humpback whale can grow up to 56 feet long and typically covers 9,900 miles a year as it travels through the oceans of the world. Humpback whales are a species of Baleen whale, meaning they don't have teeth. Instead, they have baleen which helps them to filter feed. Their main source of food is krill or tiny bait fish. (Photo by Jodie Lowe/Media Drum Images)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) lands on fans sitting court side as he dives after a ball in the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on January 24, 2023. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports)
Elle & The Pocket Belles on day three of the Qatar Goodwood Festival 2022 at Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester on Thursday July 28, 2022. (Photo by Steven Paston/PA Wire)
A Bangladeshi man carries a duck as he returns to Dhaka after Eid-al-Fitr celebrations, at the Sadarghat launch terminal in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 28 April 2023. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival at the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is one of the two major holidays in Islam. (Photo by Monirul Alam/EPA)