Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Thoughts. They fly through the broad expenses of our mind, floating gracefully in midair, going into the clouds, and then reemerging once again. Some are quick and furtive, others are grand and majestic. We reflect upon them as they enter our minds, and once they leave, they are usually gone for good. However, some thoughts are different. These thoughts resemble a flock of angry birds or a swarm of hungry moths that invade your mind, slowly eating away at your sanity, strength, and desire to live. Such thoughts often plague that minds of people with Obsessive Compulsive disorder. They completely occupy their time; constantly there; ever-present. With his book sculpture, Thomas Wightman was able to accurately convey the way these thoughts consume the mind, slowly building a nest within it, resisting all attempts to drive them away.

Meirav Stardinner receives a snake massage from Ada Barak at Barak's snake spa on September 11, 2008 in Talmei Elazar, Israel. Barack's income comes mostly from exhibiting her plants which eat everything from insects to small mammals. She discovered snakes' therapeutic value after letting people hold them after her act “Some people said that holding the snakes made them feel better, relaxed”, she says. “One old lady said it was soothing, like a cold compress”. Now she uses a combination of big snakes for deep massage and little ones for light massage, though all are non-venemous. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

“Dog meat refers to edible parts and the flesh derived from (predominantly domestic) dogs. Human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including ancient China, ancient Mexico, and ancient Rome. According to contemporary reports, dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as Switzerland, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea. In addition, dog meat has also been used as survival food in times of war and/or other hardships”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A chef prepares dog meat at a restaurant on July 4, 2005 in Gwacheon, South Korea. Dog meat is a traditional dish in Korea dating back to the Samkuk period (period of the three kingdoms BC 57 – AD 668). Although many recipes existed historically for dog meat, now chefs only make soups, or dishes using boiled or roasted meat. Koreans traditionally eat dog meat on the hottest day of the summer, for it's reputed benefits of virility, invigoration and health. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Cheng Liping, whose husband Ju was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 which disappeared on March 8, 2014, shows a picture of she and her husband together and an old card with a message given by her husband, at a park near her house where she and her husband used to visit during an interview with Reuters in Beijing July 24, 2014. Cheng said her life has been totally changed since the incident. Their two little sons, who don't know about this incident, keep asking her when their dad is coming back. Six months after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, with 239 mostly Chinese people on board, disappeared about an hour into a routine journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing March 8, loved ones of missing passengers derive what comfort they can from what's left behind after the world's greatest aviation mystery. More than two dozen countries have been involved in the air, sea and underwater search for the Boeing 777 but months of sorties failed to turn up any trace – even after narrowing the search area to the southern Indian Ocean – long after batteries on the black box voice and data recorders had gone flat. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A polar bear whose bottom half is caked in oily black gunk. A whale wrapped in striped fabric: a pseudo straightjacket. These are the messes climate change leaves behind, the things we know are happening but often don’t have the opportunity to see with our own eyes. Swiss street art duo Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, otherwise known as NeverCrew, met in art school when they were 15 and started making work together soon after. As a team, the artists adorn the world with eye-popping and gut-wrenching images depicting the consequences of humanity’s actions on earth. (Photo by NeverCrew/The Huffington Post)

This artist has put together an amazing picture set of a man blending into the Seven Wonders of the World with her incredible body art. New York artist Trina Merry is known for her unique style that blends body art with photography but in her Lost in Wonder series shes painted a models body to blend into some of the worlds most iconic locations. She had her subject, UK model Kyle James, pose fully painted in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Wall of China, Petra, The Colosseum, Machu Picchu, Stone Henge and Easter Island. Here: Colusseum. (Photo by Trina Merry/Caters News)

“The harp seal or saddleback seal is a species of earless seal native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean. Newborn pups weigh around 11 kilograms (24 lb) and are 80–85 centimetres (31–33 in) long. After birth, the mother only feeds that pup. During the 12 day nursing period, the mother does not eat, losing up to 3 kilograms (7 lb) per day. Harp seal milk contains up to 48% fat, so pups gain over 2.2 kilograms (4.9 lb) per day. During this time, the juvenile's “greycoat” grows in beneath the white neonatal coat, and it weighs 80 pounds (36 kg)”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A harp seal pup lies on an ice floe in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence March 24, 2008 in Charlottetown, Canada. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)