“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)

A woman wearing masks, stretches her arms in Hong Kong, Wednesday, February 19, 2020. Russia says it will temporarily ban Chinese nationals from entering the country amid the outbreak of the new virus centered in China that has infected more than 73,000 people. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Artist German Vinogradov acts in the performance of the burning of installation, devoted to Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, Kaluga region, Russia, February 17, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Ellen MacRae a student from Edinburgh University take a lateral flow antigen test at a test centre which is also open to students in Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University and SRUC on December 1, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The programme is running in partnership between the University of Edinburgh and other Scottish universities, the Scottish Government and NHS Test and Protect, supporting students leaving their term-time accommodation to travel home at the end of term for the winter break. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A woman looks on December 10, 2020 at a metal monolith that has popped up on a riverbank of the Vistula in the Polish capital Warsaw, the latest in a string of similar objects that have recently appeared in Europe and the US. Similar-looking objects were found in the United States, Romania and Britain. (Photo by Wojtek Radwanski/AFP Photo)

A dog wearing ski goggles rides on the back of a man as they both stand in Times Square in New York, USA on January 25, 2021. (Photo by John Angelillo/UPI/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A fire engine drives away from flames on the ridge, east of Silverwood Lake in Crestline, Calif., Sunday, August 7, 2016. (Photo by Terry Peirson/The Press-Enterprise via AP Photo)

Flames from the Jerusalem Fire erupt in Lake County, California August 12, 2015. The wildfire running rampant through drought-parched vegetation in northern California grew by several thousand acres overnight into Wednesday, as firefighters worked to stop the flames from spreading toward communities. (Photo by Robert Galbraith/Reuters)