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)

Jesinta Campbell arrives at “Bridesmaids” Celebrity Girls Night Out to celebrate the Australian premiere at Event Cinemas George Street on June 14, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams)

“In 1967, Zhang Yaxin was 34 and working as a photojournalist at China’s state-controlled Xinhua News Agency when he was assigned to a top-secret government project. He was to be the official photographer of a new arts program led by Chairman Mao and his wife – the Model Operas. Though he was not to know it then, Zhang would spend the next seven years documenting the evolution of one of the most dramatic and elaborate attempts to redefine artistic sensibilities in modern art history”. – Chengcheng Jiang via TIME. Photo: Raid on the White Tiger Regiment, 1971. (Photo by Zhang Yaxin/Courtesy See+ Gallery, Beijing)

“Harisu (하리수 or 河莉秀) is the stage name of Lee Kyung-eun originally Lee Kyung-yeop (born February 17, 1975), a transsexual pop singer, model and actress from South Korea. Born biologically male, Harisu identified as female from early childhood, and underwent s*x reassignment surgery in the 1990s. She is noted for being South Korea's first transgender entertainer, and in 2002 became only the second person in Korea to legally change their gender. Her stage name is an adaptation of the English phrase «hot issue»”.

Photo: South Korean transsexual singer and actress Harisu (R) poses for pictures with a fan who played the role of groom during a simulated Chinese wedding at a fan club activity on August 5, 2006 in Changchun of Jilin Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

“San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego (as given on its website), and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans. It is traditionally a four-day event (Thursday through Sunday — though a three-hour preview night on Wednesday is open to professionals, exhibitors, and some guests pre-registered for all four days) held during the summer in San Diego, California, United States, at the San Diego Convention Center. Comic-Con is both the name of the annual event and the common name of the organization”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Rannie Rodil and Laya Bella attend Day 1 at Comic-Con 2011 on July 21, 2011 in San Diego, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)

A dragon crew team performs at a shopping mall to welcome the Lunar new year in Taoyuan, Taiwan on February 1, 2022. (Photo by Ann Wang/Reuters)

Bystanders look on as workers arrange silver blue fabric, part of the process of wrapping L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris on September 13, 2021, designed by the late artist Christo. Work has begun on wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in silvery-blue fabric as a posthumous tribute to the artist Christo, who had dreamt of the project for decades. Bulgarian-born Christo, a longtime Paris resident, had plans for sheathing the imposing war memorial at the top of the Champs-Elysees while renting an apartment near it in the 1960s (Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP Photo)

Performers ride atop a car leading to the the National Circus Day celebration in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, September 4, 2021, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Chile's Culture Minister set the stage for the first circus performances with a ringside public since the beginning of the pandemic quarantine measures as the South American country looks to fully roll back almost all COVID-19 related restrictions. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)