Hindu devotees, their cheeks pierced with metal rods, wait to participate in a religious procession during Thaipusam festival in Chennai, India, Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Thaipusam, celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (Photo by Arun Sankar K./AP Photo)

Overall winner: The Art of Flight by Alwin Hardenbol (University of Eastern Finland). A panning shot of a Dalmatian pelican in flight. The picture was taken on Lake Kerkini in Greece. (Photo by Alwin Hardenbol/2020 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)

The Shannara Chronicles - A Refreshing Adventure in a Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Future

I was sitting idly on the couch, drinking cola and playing Red Flush online casino games while my better half was channel surfing besides me. I was completely immersed in my game, but dragged back with my feet on the ground when I heard a name - Terry Brooks - coming from the telly. And from MTV?!

In this June 20, 2015 photo, Niberta Galvez uses the bottom half of his shirt to collect coca leaves in Samugari, Peru. Coca farmers were among the locals who, in 1984, formed citizen militias to help the military beat back Shining Path rebels, reducing them to a small group of fewer than 500 who now are deeply involved in drug trafficking. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A quartet of showgirls in costume sit at an outdoor table and drink from mugs at Disneyland amusement park, Anaheim, California, 1955. (Photo by Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A white crab spider hides between the petals of a rain spotted rose blossom in the garden of a home near Oakland in southwestern Oregon on August 23, 2024. Crab spiders are ambush predators and wait patiently for their prey to approach. (Photo by Robin Loznak/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The Rafflesia Arnoldi flower (Amarphophallus titanum) which has been cultivated is seen in Palupuah Village, Agam District, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on April 13, 2022. The West Sumatera Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) estimates around seven Rafflesia Arnoldi flowers will bloom in Palupuah Village this year. (Photo by Adi Prima/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)