“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)

A white whale wears a wreath at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, Japan, on October 3, 2012. (Photo by Associated Press)

Visitors to the annual Vivid Sydney light festival wear matching illuminated suits alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the second night of the light and sound show in Sydney, Australia, May 28, 2016. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

In this September 1, 2016 photo, 90-year-old street vendor Antonio Bauza waits for tourists to sell his bananas, next to the village church in Remedios, Cuba. With the arrival of the first commercial flights from the U.S. to Cuba in more than 50 years, the Cuban government is welcoming the wave of new visitors and struggling to update infrastructure that's already overwhelmed. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

Rumor, a German shepherd and winner of Best In Show at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, is fed steak at Sardi's in New York, U.S., February 15, 2017. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Participants perform a dragon dance as they march during a lantern parade marking the start of a month- long “Lotus Lantern Festival” to celebrate the upcoming Buddha' s birthday, in Seoul on April 29, 2017 Buddha' s birthday falls on May 3. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

Contestants congratulate Chelsea Morgensen (R) of Hollywood, California as she is crowned Miss Hooters International 2017 during the 21st Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant at The Pearl concert theater at Palms Casino Resort on July 12, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Alamy Stock Photo)

Double amputee dog Cora Rose balances on her hind legs to watch Zach Skow repairing her cart on a street in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019. Cora Rose serves in a prisoner therapy program founded by Skow called “Pawsitive Change” in California. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)