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)

(L-R) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, J K Rowling and Rupert Grint attend the World Premiere of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1” held at The Odeon Leicester Square on November 11, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Taylor Swift performs “All Too Well” at the 56th annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision)

A Chinese snake charmer performs at a temple fair to mark Chinese New Year February 19, 2007 in Beijing, China. Chinese worldwide are celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Pig. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) watches a demonstration of the new Facebook video chat during a news conference at Facebook headquarters July 6, 2011 in Palo Alto, California. Zuckerberg announced new features that are coming to Facebook including video chat and a group chat feature. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Paramilitary policemen carry tyres as they take part in a training session in Zhangye, Gansu Province, China, March 1, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A starling jealously guards a seed station in the back garden of the photographer’s Michigan home in January 2024. (Photo by Lisa Cavanary/Solent News)

The "Square Head" is a sculpture by the french artist Sacha Sosno, and it is also the very first giant sculpture to have been transformed in a habitable building.