A man does physical exercise during sunset over the Finnish Gulf coast in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/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 motorway bridge crosses the icy Hunhe River in Shenyang, China on December 12, 2019. (Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media)

“Sunward”. When the Mediterrenean Mantis opened its wings, It seemed very impressive at the sunshine... Photo location: Nicosia, Cyprus. (Photo and caption by Hasan Baglar/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Magdalena Vasquez, also known as “Bgirl Mags” (R) and Chris Cielo, also known as “Bboy Cielo” (L) perform during a media call for the Red Bull BC One breakdancing competition at the Brisbane Powerhouse in Brisbane, Australia, 01 July 2025. The world's biggest one-on-one breakdancing competition, the Red Bull BC One have announced Brisbane as the host city for the 2025 Red Bull BC One Cypher Australia. (Photo by Darren England/EPA)

A cat is presented during “The "3rd International Pursaklar Cat Beauty Fest”, on October 14, 2018 in Ankara. (Photo by Adem Altan/AFP Photo)

A pelican on a lake in California in the first decade of January 2024 deftly snares a large trout after scooping it up, tossing it into the air and catching it in its bill. (Photo by Jiahong Zeng/Solent news)

A Netherlands fan with his face painted is seen in the stand before the match against Poland during UEFA Nations League action at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland on September 22, 2022. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)