Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, performs her women's short program during the Skate Canada International figure skating competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, October 27, 2023. (Photo by Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via 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)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

Crocodile meat parts stands on display on Huangsha Seafood Market in Guangzhou, Guandong Province, China, 20 January 2018. Tsukiji Market of China or Huangsha Seafood Market is biggest one in Southern China and one of the biggest in China, as there are literally hundreds of different varieties of fish and seafood scattered throughout the market. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

The social media star Demi Rose, 23, posed for a sizzling new photoshoot to promote her new swimwear line in Ibiza, Spain on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (Photo by KP Pictures)

A Chinese girl in traditional dress eats her lunch in a Five Guys restaurant in between shooting videos for her Chinese social media account on October 18, 2023 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A Pelican attempts to take a persons belongings while they are sat in St James' Park, London on Monday, August 11, 2025. Temperatures will soar above 30°C in parts of the UK in the coming days, with another heatwave possible in some areas. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

Rabbits are seen in a cage, which is placed by authority as a test of the living conditions near the site of last week's blasts at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 19, 2015. According to local media, the animals were alive after being placed near the blasts site for two hours. Four new fires have broken out at the site where two huge blasts last week killed 116 people, Chinese state media reported Friday soon after officials said safety hazards were found at almost 70 percent of firms handling dangerous chemicals in Beijing. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)