“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)

“Models decorated with glow-in-the-dark paint manage to stand out in a new series of pictures shot in the dark. Its well known that capturing beautiful photos without natural light is a tricky undertaking even for the most talented photographers but Hid Saib Neto has found a way to make the most of the darkness. The 26-year-old Brazilian photographer covered the group of models in neon paint before illuminating them with just a single ultra-violet light”. – Caters News. Photo: A model wearing the neon make up. (Photo by Hid Saib Neto/Caters News)

Actors wearing masks of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin perform with body bags during a demonstration outside United Nations headquarters on January 24, 2011 in New York City. Protesters called on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution to attempt to halt al-Assad's crackdown on the Syrian uprising. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A police officer gives instructions to migrants rushing to board a train that would take them towards Serbia, at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, August 20, 2015. Macedonian police stepped up the security at the border with Greece apparently trying to stem recent surge of migrants who are coming from Greece. (Photo by Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo)

An anti-coup protester holds a Burkinabe flag in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, September 18, 2015. Security forces in the capital of Burkina Faso fired in the air on Friday to disperse demonstrators who burned tyres and blocked neighborhood streets to protest at a military coup this week that derailed a democratic transition. The head of a military junta in Burkina Faso which took power on Thursday has freed interim President Michel Kafando and two of his ministers, state television said on Friday. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

Protesters hold on to each other as they are sprayed with water from police water cannons in Martyr square, downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 8, 2015. Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and water cannons to break up an anti-government protest in Beirut on Thursday, and the country's fractious leaders postponed talks aimed at resolving a political crisis that is feeding public discontent. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

Residents observe a police officer take up position during an operation at the Mare slums complex in Rio de Janeiro March 25, 2014. The federal troops have taken control of security operations in Mare slums complex to help quell a surge in violent crime following attacks by drug traffickers on police posts in three slums on the north side of the city, government officials said. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

People enjoy the fine weather on the coast at Wembury during the first ever nationwide survey to map the location of the threatened and creatures on March 24, 2011 in near Plymouth, England. Often found on the coast, and particularly in the south west of England, the number of oil beetle species found in the UK has halved in the last 100 years and the survey will help establish the whereabouts of the remaining four species and boost efforts to secure their future. The survey is being launched today by Buglife: The Invertebrate Trust and the National Trust in partnership with Natural England and Oxford University Museum of Natural History. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)