2016 Rio Olympics, Opening ceremony, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 5, 2016. Athletes of Colombia take part in the opening ceremony. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

A competitor tries to swipe away some grease as he slips off the “gostra”, a pole covered in grease, during the celebrations for the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta August 30, 2015. In the traditional “gostra”, a game stretching back to the Middle Ages, young men, women and children have to make their way to the top of a pole and try to uproot one of the flags to win prizes. Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/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)

Meatball, a bulldog, poses in a tuxedo at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on October 20, 2012 in New York City. Hundreds of dog owners festooned their pets for the annual event, the largest of its kind in the United States. (Photo by John Moore)

Girls pose during a photocall to promote the Big Royal Wedding Sleepover at “Camp Royale” on Clapham Common on March 8, 2011 in London, England. The “Pop Up” campsite will cater for up to 10,500 people between April 28 and May 1 to coincide with the weekend of the Royal Wedding on April 29. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images). LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 08 2011

Artists perform during the opening show directed by German director Volker Hesse, on the opening day of the Gotthard rail tunnel, at the fairground Rynaecht at the northern portal in Erstfeld, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. The construction of the 57 kilometer long tunnel began in 1999, the breakthrough was in 2010. After the official opening on June 1, the commercial operation will start in December 2016. (Photo by Ruben Sprich\Pool Photo via AP Photo)

Dancers from Xinjiang delegation perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 9th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the People's Republic of China on September 10, 2011 in Guiyang, China. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)