“Microscope images forge an extraordinary bond between science and art, said Hidenao Tsuchiya, Olympus America's Vice President and General Manager for the Scientific Equipment Group. We founded this competition to focus on the fascinating stories coming out of today's life science research laboratories. The thousands of images that people have shared with the competition over the years reflect some of the most exciting work going on in research today – work that can help shed light on the living universe and ultimately save lives. We look at BioScapes and these beautiful images as sources of education and inspiration to us and the world”. – OlympusBioScapes

Photo: Pretarsus of the third leg of a female drone fly (Eristalis tenax), ventral view, by Dr. Jan Michels, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. (Photo by Olympus BioScapes)

Indian women wearing traditional attire take a “selfie” with an Indian man dressed as King 'Mahabali' during the Hindu harvesting festival Onam celebrations in Bangalore, India, 28 August 2015. Local people put flower mats in front of their houses, to welcome the King Mahabali, a past ruler of Kerala southern India, during the ten-day festival. (Photo by Jagadeesh N. V./EPA)

A woman poses for a photograph in front of a 3D painting at HK 3D Museum in Hong Kong June 26, 2014. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

British television, radio presenter and DJ Maya Jama has her hair brushed upon arrival at the Brit Awards 2022 in London Tuesday, February 8, 2022. (Photo by Joel C. Ryan/Invision/AP)

A torch bearer poses for photographs during the Olympic Torch Relay Celebration event on July 21, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. As the Olympic torch relay makes its way around Tokyo, public relays have been cancelled in favour of daily ceremonies held behind closed doors, as authorities act to avoid large gatherings while the country endures a fourth wave of coronavirus. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)

A woman rides her horse in the River Eden on Friday June 10, 2022, on Day 2 of the Appleby Horse Fair, the annual gathering of gypsies and travellers. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire Press Association)

A participant at London Pride 2022 parade takes a mocking selfie next to Christian extremists protesting the parade in Piccadilly on July 2, 2022. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

High-rise buildings are partly covered by heavy fog at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour Monday, March 20, 2017. Fog blanketing Hong Kong is common in springtime and may greatly affect shipping and aviation. (Photo by Vincent Yu/AP Photo)