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 soldier reacts after falling off a horse as members of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, arrive at Green Park for a gun salute celebrating the King's birthday in London on November 14, 2022. King Charles III is celebrating his first birthday as monarch as he turns 74. (Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP Photo)

Men, wearing traditional clothes, are seen as “Pir Shaliar” event, which is celebrated twice a year, continues in the Hawraman, Iran on January 30, 2025. At the event, def teams consisting of men and women formed dhikr rings by playing the def on the slopes of the mountain accompanied by hymns. (Photo by Fariq Faraj Mahmood/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A rescued otter cub named Mingo is receiving specialist care after being found in July 2025 in the flamingo habitat at Colchester Zoo, far from where he should have been. He is being raised with two other cubs at the UK Wild Otter Trust’s centre in Devon, UK. (Photo by UK Wild Otter Trust/Cover Images)

A group police are seen outside the home of a senior police officer in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Thai police have arrested a fellow officer who fired multiple gunshots from his home in Bangkok which forced an over 24 hours-long standoff after his colleagues tried to take him to be treated for mental illness. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

People look at the body of a person who died during the earthquake, on the road to Camp-Perrin, Les Cayes, Haiti, Sunday, August 15, 2021. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, with the epicenter about 125 kilometers (78 miles ) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said. (Photo by Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo)

2016 Rio Olympics, Judo, Final, Women, 48 kg Bronze Medal Contests, Carioca Arena 2, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 6, 2016. Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh (KAZ) of Kazakhstan and Dayaris Mestre Alvarez (CUB) of Cuba react. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

A USGS geologist making observations of the fissure 8 lava channel at sunset is pictured in this July 3, 2018 fisheye lens handout photograph near the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii, U.S. (Photo by USGS/Handout via Reuters)