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)

Model and Kate Moss lookalike, Denise Ohnona debuts a bespoke duvet-inspired dress designed by Travelodge, which they have dubbed “The 24-hour dress”, in London in the second decade of September 2024. (Photo by David Parry/PA Media Assignments)

A man dressed as the “Star Wars” character Darth Vader sits on a bench in central Lviv, Ukraine, November 24, 2016. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

A woman dressed up as a zombie participates in a zombie walk in Stockholm, Sweden on August 19, 2017. (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP Photo)

Women dressed as a rabbit and a fox, who pose for pictures with tourists, walk in central Kiev, Ukraine April 4, 2018. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Women dressed as nuns pose for pictures during Halloween celebrations in the Shibuya district in Tokyo, Japan October 31, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Artists preform on a pool suspended above the audience during the Fuerza Bruta dress rehearsal on February 1, 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Women wear traditional Hanbok dresses as they walk past fallen autumn leaves in Seoul on November 21, 2022. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)