“Microscope images forge an extraordinary bond between science and art, said Hidenao Tsuchiya, Olympus America's Vice President and General Manager for the Scientific Equipment Group. We founded this competition to focus on the fascinating stories coming out of today's life science research laboratories. The thousands of images that people have shared with the competition over the years reflect some of the most exciting work going on in research today – work that can help shed light on the living universe and ultimately save lives. We look at BioScapes and these beautiful images as sources of education and inspiration to us and the world”. – OlympusBioScapes

Photo: Pretarsus of the third leg of a female drone fly (Eristalis tenax), ventral view, by Dr. Jan Michels, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. (Photo by Olympus BioScapes)

Horses from the Garrison Savannah, who are involved in celebrations today to mark 50 years of Independence, are washed in the sea first thing in the morning on December 1, 2016 in Bridgetown, Barbados. Prince Harry is visiting the Caribbean marking the 35th Anniversary of Independence in Antigua and Barbuda and the 50th Anniversary of Independence in Barbados and Guyana. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

A Capybara bathes in the hot spring water at the Saitama Children's zoo in Higashi Matsuyama city, Saitama prefecture on December 21, 2014. Seven capybaras in the zoo, originally from South America, enjoyed the hot spring water on the chilly winter day in Japan. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

Women wearing protective masks talk to each other on a street, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 17, 2020. (Photo by Lim Huey Teng/Reuters)

Women stand on a street ahead of the Lunar New Year celebration at the Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand, February 10, 2021. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

A man looks at a figure outside a store as he walks along a street in Beijing on March 2, 2021. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

Aerialists Luka Owen and Daniel Connor perform with a Fork Lift Truck to mark the handover of the former Daimler Car Factory to Imagineer by the Wigley Group on April 14, 2021 in Coventry, England. The building will include a sound recording studio and edit suite, as well as a Sprung Dance Floor and Vertical Dance Wall. As well as providing a home for Imagineer’s innovative education and training programmes aimed at young people and people with disabilities. (Photo by Darren Staples/Getty Images)

A worker repairs fishing nets, which can stretch to more than 20 metres in length, in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand on August 12, 2021. (Photo by Chanwit Wanset/Solent New)