“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)

A woman wearing masks, stretches her arms in Hong Kong, Wednesday, February 19, 2020. Russia says it will temporarily ban Chinese nationals from entering the country amid the outbreak of the new virus centered in China that has infected more than 73,000 people. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Artist German Vinogradov acts in the performance of the burning of installation, devoted to Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, Kaluga region, Russia, February 17, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Ellen MacRae a student from Edinburgh University take a lateral flow antigen test at a test centre which is also open to students in Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University and SRUC on December 1, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The programme is running in partnership between the University of Edinburgh and other Scottish universities, the Scottish Government and NHS Test and Protect, supporting students leaving their term-time accommodation to travel home at the end of term for the winter break. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A Russian peacekeeper shouts “No pictures!” at a checkpoint outside the city of Stepanakert on November 13, 2020, during a ceasefire in the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian began deploying 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh on November 10 after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed a peace deal to end weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed region. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

South Korean residents 89-year-old Jeong Nam-poong and 80-year-old Jang Yoon-hui , wearing protective masks, dance at park after their daytime discotheque “colatec” has been closed amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Seoul, South Korea, May 19, 2020. (Photo by Minwoo Park/Reuters)

The new Toyota Concept-i concept car, designed to learn about its driver is unveiled during the Toyota press conference at CES in Las Vegas, January 4, 2017. (Photo by Rick Wilking/Reuters)

Haitians pull a car atop a pushcart in Port-au-Prince, October 11, 1994. The price of gasoline has fallen to about $6 US per gallon since U.S. forces occupied Haiti. Before, gasoline had cost as much as $10 U.S. per gallon. (Photo by Eric Draper/AP Photo)