José María Larocca of Argentina riding Finn Lente soars over a water jump in the Rolex Grand Prix in Falsterbo, Sweden on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Petter Arvidson/Bildbyran/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Artists perform during the traditional costume parade during the 190th edition of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, southern Germany on September 21, 2025. The world's biggest beer festival Oktoberfest runs until October 5, 2025. (Photo by Michaela Stache/AFP Photo)

A man walks through floodwater as rain pours in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 24, 2025. (Photo by Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters)

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)

NHRA top fuel driver Spencer Massey explodes the engine of his dragster on fire during the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway on October 17, 2021. Massey was unhurt in the incident. (Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

A model performs with knitting umbrella during the Indonesia Umbrella Festival 2021 at Balekambang Park on December 04, 2021 in Solo City, Indonesia. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

Bystanders look at MV Wakashio bulk carrier that had run aground and from which oil is leaking near Blue Bay Marine Park in south-east Mauritius on August 6, 2020. The carrier, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, ran aground on July 25 and its crew was evacuated safely. The ship was empty at the time but was carrying 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,800 tonnes of bunker fuel, according to the local press. (Photo by Dev Ramkhelawon/L'Express Maurice/AFP Photo)

A woman dressed in the style of a Hindu goddess keeps her face partially covered for a ritual during Maha Shivaratri celebrations on March 12, 2021 in Kaveripattinam, India. Maha Shivaratri is a major Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god, Shiva. The festival is observed with chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating to overcome “darkness and ignorance” in life. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)