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)

Participants take part in a high-wheel bicycle race in the Frederick county, in Maryland, United States on July 15, 2023. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A worker stands next to a Southern Two-toed Sloth at the Sloth and Friends Studio inside Hong Kong Ocean Park on August 3, 2023 in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

In this handout image provided by Red Bull, Jessica Macaulay of Canada dives from the 22 metre platform during the final competition day of the sixth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on September 11, 2022 at Sisikon, Switzerland. (Photo by Romina Amato/Red Bull via Getty Images)

Handout grab taken from YouTube of Commander Chris Hadfield who has said goodbye to life on the International Space Station by making a cover version of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Issue date: Monday May 13, 2013. (Photo by Commander Chris Hadfield/YouTube/PA Wire)

An areal view of the lake in the form of a heart in Rodgau, near Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A woman walks through flood water during heavy downpour at a street in Genoa, Italy, 10 October 2014. At least one person died due to flooding after heavy rains caused the Bisagno river, which runs through Genoa city to overflow. Part of the city was in black-out with flooded streets and parked cars dragged away by the water's force. (Photo by Luca Zennaro/EPA)

A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim flagellates himself during a Muharram procession in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, October 11, 2016. Muharram is a month of mourning in remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)