In this January 8, 2015 photo, a monk Kenmyo Muta bows at the condominium construction site and the gate of Sengakuji temple in Tokyo. The “47 ronin” samurai who inspired the long-loved saga of loyalty and honor eulogized in films, books and plays are fighting a new kind of battle in urban Japan. An apartment complex is going up next to the curved tile-roofed Sengakuji temple where the three-century-old graves of the ronin, or masterless samurai, lie. The banner reads: “We only hope to protect landscape of Sengakuji temple”. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

For many of us, simply bending over to touch our toes can be a difficult. But it's not a problem for the world's bendiest woman Julia Günthel aka Zlata (27). Russian-born Zlata can twist herself like a snake into the most extreme poses imaginable – and has broken numerous world records for her flexibility. The former gymnast, who is 5ft 8in, is so flexible she can cram herself into a 50cm squared box. Photo: Russian-born Zlata is pictured in Fifties style glam while still managing to bend herself in half. (Photo by Barcroft Media)

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue give it a superficial resemblance to gold, hence the well-known nickname of fool's gold. The color has also led to the nicknames brass, brazzle, and Brazil, primarily used to refer to pyrite found in coal.
In crystallography, the cubic (or isometric) crystal system is a crystal system where the unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is one of the most common and simplest shapes found in crystals and minerals.

Armless professional photographer Rusidah, 44, takes a photograph as she carries out camera maintenance on March 13, 2012 in Purworejo, Indonesia. Rusidah shoots weddings and parties and has a small studio at home in the village of Botorejo, Bayan District, Purworejo, Central Java where her husband and son also reside. She has been in the photography business for nearly 20 years. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Lake Baikal is the world's oldest lake, at 25 million years (possibly older), and deepest, averaging 744.4 metres (2,442 ft).

Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water.

It’s a bug’s life for these colorful insects – whose natural markings resemble incredible smiling faces. These dazzling insects, with their colorful patterns and markings, look as if they are living a happy bugs life. But they’re also the spitting image of a whole host of stars from stage and screen from a creeping Charlie Chaplin to Elvis Presley. Photo: Pentomid bug. (Photo by Darlyne Murawsk/National Geographic Creative/Caters News)

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia syn. Uncia uncia) is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because as of 2003, the size of the global population was estimated at 4,080-6,590 adults, of which fewer than 2,500 individuals may reproduce in the wild.