Russia's Maria Sharapova carries the torch during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, February 7, 2014. (Photo by Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

Nine year old girl Barsati reacts while walking on a tightrope in Mumbai on February 11, 2014. Barsati, and her younger brother Rajababu, (4) earn an average of around 2000 rupees (32 dollars) per day from pedestrians and tourists performing various acts on the tightrope near the city's iconic landmark Gateway of India. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)

Performer Zhang Yashu from a Chinese ballet company perform during a photo shoot in front of the Australia's iconic landmarks Opera House (L) and Habour Bridge in Sydney on February 17, 2014. One of China's celebrated dance campanies is bringing one of the country's biggest ballet production to Australia for a series of performances in Sydney and Melbourne. (Photo by Saeed Khan/AFP Photo)

“The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, center, exits the water during the Chicago Polar Plunge, Sunday, March 2, 2014, in Chicago. Fallon joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the event. (Photo by Andrew A. Nelles/AP Photo)

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 team of ten acrobats form the shape of a racehorse crossing the winning post ridden by Stefanie Hofer to celebrate the upcoming Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse on July 29, 2014 in Ascot, England. The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is the only team-format raceday in the UK and takes place on 9th August. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

Common seals are reintroduced to the wild on the beach of the island Juist, Germany, 28 July 2014. It is the first reintroduction to the wild drive of the seal breading station Norddeich this year. (Photo by Carmen Jaspersen/EPA)

A giant Santa Claus, created and worn by local artist Ed Terrell, 66, walks home with his son and assistant, Rupanuga, 18, following a ceremony to decorate a scraggly Christmas tree with a single red Bulb in Reading, Pennsylvania, December 7, 2014. A ceremony to decorate the scraggly Christmas tree in Reading, Pennsylvania with a single red bulb, much like Charlie Brown's tree in the animated holiday classic, was postponed to Sunday from Saturday because of rain and cold temperatures, officials said. Officials decided to hold a re-dedication ceremony, which will include a Spanish and English reading from the movie's screenplay, and decorate it with a single red bulb, as in the 1965 animated television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)