Brain-on-a-chip. Dazzling in green and magenta this image shows the nerve fibres (in green) produced by neural stem cells (in magenta) as they grow on a synthetic gel. Captured by a technique known as confocal microscopy, the image is part of research shedding light on how tinkering with the environment can affect the way in which nerve fibres grow. (Photo by Collin Edington and Iris Lee/Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Wellcome Images)

Attendees dressed as Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn arrive for opening day of the annual Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, United States July 21, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Saudi youths demonstrate a stunt known as “sidewall skiing” (driving on two wheels) in the northern city of Tabuk, in Saudi Arabia December 3, 2014. (Photo by Mohamed Al Hwaity/Reuters)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

People are walking with umbrellas on a snow-covered street during the first snowfall of the year in Tokyo, Japan, on February 5, 2024. (Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman poses next to two mailboxes along a street in Taipei on August 11, 2015 that were reportedly bent by strong winds brought by Typhoon Soudelor over the weekend. The two iron mailboxes have become an unlikely attraction, drawing thousands of snap-happy visitors and have even become a backdrop to a wedding photo shoot. The typhoon, which hit in the early hours of August 8 and was billed as the most powerful typhoon this year, uprooted trees, brought down electricity poles, knocking out power to a record 4.3 million households, while leaving eight dead and four missing. (Photo by Benjamin Yeh/AFP Photo)

Activists attend a parade to demand rights of gender equality to LGBT community members in Santiago, Chile, November 25, 2017. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

Elfyn Evans of Great Britain and Daniel Barritt of Great Britain compete in their M-Sport WRT Ford Fiesta RS WRC during Day One of the WRC Australia on September 11, 2015 in Coffs Harbour, Australia. (Photo by Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images)