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 Palestinian youth sets a beach umbrella on the shore off of Gaza City, on January 12, 2022. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo)

British singer Rita Ora arrives for the Echo Award at Messe Berlin on April 12, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

The sun rises through the thick fog that covers the city of Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, November 12, 2021. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A masked reveller poses during the Venice Carnival in Venice, Italy February 12, 2017. (Photo by Tony Gentile/Reuters)

Members of a propaganda troupe perform in a public square in Pyongyang on April 12, 2017. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

Men and children gather as a camel is being slaughtered in celebration of Eid al-Adha, in Peshawar, Pakistan on August 12, 2019. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

An Aymara woman with a sheep waves to the crowd during a Christmas parade in La Paz, Bolivia December 12, 2015. (Photo by David Mercado/Reuters)