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)

“Hard for Life”. (Photo by Theo Vu Xuan/Sony World Photography Awards/WENN.com)

Hungarian model Barbara Palvin arrives for the 2019 CFDA fashion awards at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City on June 3, 2019. (Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP Photo)

American rapper Doja Cat poses with her award for Best New Pop Artist at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 27, 2021. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Singer Whitney Houston performs onstage at the 2009 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Taylor Swift arrives at the American Music Awards on Tuesday, October 9, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Singer Zendaya arrives at the 2015 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 22, 2015. (Photo by David McNew/Reuters)

American rapper from Memphis GloRilla attends the Billboard Women in Music Awards in Inglewood, California on March 7, 2024. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)