Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

Brain-on-a-chip. Dazzling in green and magenta this image shows the nerve fibres (in green) produced by neural stem cells (in magenta) as they grow on a synthetic gel. Captured by a technique known as confocal microscopy, the image is part of research shedding light on how tinkering with the environment can affect the way in which nerve fibres grow. (Photo by Collin Edington and Iris Lee/Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Wellcome Images)

British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Cambridge University Professor and Fellow, circa 1985. Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76. (Photo by Gemma Levine/Getty Images)

An empty Turcot Interchange is shown in Montreal, Saturday, January 9, 2021, as the Quebec government imposed a curfew to help stop the spread of COVID-19 starting at 8 p.m until 5 a.m and lasting until Feb. 8. (Photo by Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)

Athletes from Australia's Olympic team going to the 2016 Olympics in Rio present their uniforms alongside Brazilian Samba dancer Sashya Jay at an official unveiling ceremony at Sydney's Bondi Beach, March 30, 2016. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

American actress Indya Moore attends the FOX/HULU Golden Globe Awards viewing party and post-show celebration at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Hulu)

A Cucumber and a Chuta Cholero hug during the traditional festival “Desentierro del Pepino” (unearthing the Cucumber) to mark the beginning of carnival on January 21, 2024 in La Paz, Bolivia. People dug up the cucumber from the cemetery and walk through the streets with two characters, the Ch'uta and the Chola. (Photo by Gaston Brito/Getty Images)

Mira Saville, 11, spins in her petticoat on the sand at the Nashuva Spiritual Community Jewish New Year celebration on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, United States September 14, 2015. As Jews take part in the Tashlich prayer, a Rosh Hashanah ritual, bread crumbs are tossed into the waters to symbolically cast away sins. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)