This photo provided by Steamboat Ski Resort shows hot air balloons that visitors can tour in above the town and mountains in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Wild West Adventures offer continental breakfast, champagne ceremony with flight certificates and courtesy pick-up are included. (Photo by Larry Pierce/AP Photo/Steamboat Ski Resort)

“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)

Five-month-old baby elephant Fah Jam swims during a hydrotherapy treatment as part of a lengthy rehabilitation process to heal her injured front left foot at a rehabilitation center in Pattaya, Thailand January 5, 2017. The baby elephant was injured at three months old when she got stuck in an animal snare put up by villagers to prevent elephant intrusions in Chanthaburi province. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

A person falls down stairs while sledding in Central Park as snow falls in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 7, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

A Sri Lankan man use a scarf as a protective mask as he waits for a swab test at a locked-down area in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 14 May 2020. The Sri Lankan government has started lifting most of the restrictions implemented nearly two months ago in a bid to slow down the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease and is preparing for a full reopening of businesses and a resumption of activities to avoid an economic slump. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A “caixer” (horse rider) rears up on his horse during the traditional “Jaleo” at the Sant Lluiset Festival in Sant Lluis, Spain on September 3, 2022. (Photo by Matthias Oesterle/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Members of the Washington Wizards Dancers dance during a timeout against the Utah Jazz in the second quarter at Capital One Arena in Washington, District of Columbia on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 138th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Friday, February 2, 2024. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast an early spring. (Photo by Barry Reeger/AP Photo)