The Doppler on Wheels (DOW) vehicle scans a supercell thunderstorm during a tornado research mission, May 8, 2017 in Elbert County near Agate, Colorado. Doppler on Wheels (DOW) is a mobile doppler radar mounted on a truck that brings instruments directly into storms, allowing scientists to scan storms and tornadoes and make 3-D maps of wind and debris. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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)

Honourable mention, Behaviour category. Toss the scorpion – Indian roller playing with its kill by Susmita Datta. The image was taken during an early morning safari drive at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India. (Photo by Susmita Datta/PA Wire/Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2017)

Resident Taina holds her brother Ysaque in the hallway outside their apartment in an occupied building in the Mangueira “favela” community on August 13, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People in funny costumes race down the slope in bathtubs during the 7th Bathtub race at Stoos, Switzerland, on January 19, 2019. (Photo by Urs Flueeler/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People are cooling off at a water park in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, on July 8, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The Rakotzbrücke bridge in the autumnal azalea and rhododendron park in Kromlau in the district of Görlitz, Saxony near the state border with Brandenburg on November 7, 2023. More than four million euros have been invested in the restoration and reconstruction of this Lusatian landmark in recent years. The complex includes the listed group of Rakotzbrücke bridges and the so-called organ made of basalt. Friedrich Hermann Rötschke had these built between 1842 and 1875. (Photo by Patrick Pleul/dpa)