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)

An undated handout picture made available by the Symbio Wildlife Park on 28 November 2016 shows three Pygmy Marmoset monkeys including an adult male, a female juvenile and a four-week-old baby, at the Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh, South of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. (Photo by EPA/Symbio Wildlife Park)

Rachel Hanson, 27 from Chicago, Illinois at the Bellagio Fountain Club at the Bellagio hotel and casino during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 18, 2023. (Photo by Bridget Bennett/The Washington Post)

Wearing a mariachi hat, candidate Clara Brugada, who is running as a delegation leader under the ruling party Morena, smiles as she greets supporters on the last day of campaigning ahead of the June 6 mid-term elections, in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Photo by Marco Ugarte/AP Photo)

A model presents a creation from the Christian Siriano Spring/Summer 2022 collection during New York Fashion Week at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 7, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Inbar Regev, an eight-year-old Israeli girl, holds her pet python while swimming in her backyard pool in Ge'a, southern Israel on October 7, 2020. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

American model, golf instructor, former professional golfer and social media personality Paige Spiranac drove fans wild by dressing up as Jessica Rabbit for Halloween on October 30, 2025. (Photoby X @PaigeSpiranac)

A person poses on the track during a fashion competition at the Durban July horse racing event in Durban, South Africa July 1, 2017. (Photo by Rogan Ward/Reuters)