A woman waters the plants outside her house in an alley at a slum in Mumbai October 28, 2014. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/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)

These Arab recruits line up in a barracks square in the British Mandate of Palestine, on December 28, 1940, for their first drill under a British solider. Some 6,000 Palestinian Arabs signed up with the British Army during the course of World War II. (AP Photo)

People fancy dressed as “Catrina” take part in the “Catrinas Parade” along Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City on October 22, 2017. Mexicans get ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead highlighting the character of La Catrina which was created by cartoonist Jose Guadalupe Posada, famous for his drawings of typical local, folkloric scenes, socio- political criticism and for his illustrations of “skeletons” or skulls, including La Catrina. (Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP Photo)

A mahout guards the elephants during the annual Vrischikolsavam festival, which features a colourful procession of decorated elephants along with drum concerts, at a temple in Kochi, India, November 18, 2017. (Photo by Sivaram V/Reuters)

Bella Hadid arriving at her hotel on December 7, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Palace Lee/PacificCoastNews)

Jude Hajjaj, carries her cat near a picture of her cat painted on the wall by her father Osama Hajjaj, who teams up with his neighbours in creating works of art at their roof during the curfew imposed by the Jordanian government amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Amman, Jordan, May 10, 2020. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

A resident brings his dog that uses a mask in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Jefta Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)