Performer Zhang Yashu from a Chinese ballet company perform during a photo shoot in front of the Australia's iconic landmarks Opera House (L) and Habour Bridge in Sydney on February 17, 2014. One of China's celebrated dance campanies is bringing one of the country's biggest ballet production to Australia for a series of performances in Sydney and Melbourne. (Photo by Saeed Khan/AFP Photo)

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)

A protester wears a pig mask as he marches through the streets of downtown Vancouver with thousands of people participating in the Occupy Vancouver protest on October 15, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Thousands of people are taking to the streets in cities across the world today in demonstrations inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City. An estimated 2,000 people participated in the Vancouver occupation. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Noel Brandon known as DJ IAMNOEL plays his set on a balcony in downtown San Diego, California on April 11, 2020. NOEL was inspired by other countries and wanted to give back. Residents went on their balconies at 8pm to cheer in support for the frontline workers, afterwards NOEL played his set to cheer up the locals who have been quarantined like many other cities around the world due to Coronavirus. (Photo by Ariana Drehsler/AFP Photo)

Tulane University graduates pop prosecco as they pose for graduation photos on a largely empty Bourbon Street, due to the coronavirus pandemic, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

Isaiah Bowen, right, takes a shot as his dad, Garth Bowen, center, looks on at a basketball hoop in front of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Sunday June 21, 2020, in Richmond, Va. A judge extended an injunction delaying the removal of the statue by the state. The statue had become a focal point for the Black Lives Matter movement in Richmond. (Photo by Steve Helber/AP Photo)

A counter-protester grabs the flag of a pro-police demonstrator during a rally, following weeks of protests against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. June 27, 2020. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

A showgirl in a face mask stands by the door at the reopening of Bally's Las Vegas hotel and casino, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Las Vegas. The casino reopened for the first time since March following a closure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)