An annual fire festival is held in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on July 14, 2019. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)

Adrienne Sipe (L) and Brooke Gilliam of Washington D.C. leap off a snow podium they made near the U.S. Capitol in Washington February 13, 2014. A deadly and intensifying winter storm packing heavy snow, sleet and rain pelted a huge swath of the U.S. East Coast on Thursday, grounding flights and shuttering schools and government offices. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

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)

Team Alberta skip Kevin Koe makes a shot during the 10th draw against team British Columbia at the Brier curling tournament in Brandon, Manitoba, Tuesday, March, 5, 2019. (Photo by Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)

A model performs with knitting umbrella during the Indonesia Umbrella Festival 2021 at Balekambang Park on December 04, 2021 in Solo City, Indonesia. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

A sacrificial goat peeks through the entrance gate of a house, ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Peshawar, Pakistan on June 28, 2023. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

A participant dressed up in a costume attends the 2021 Prague Comic Con in Prague, Czech Republic, October 16, 2021. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)

People walk among yellowish trees at Kolomenskoye Park during autumn season in Moscow, Russia on October 03, 2021. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)