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)

This is the stunning body of work by a talented painter – who transforms humans into amazing animals. From alligators to foxes and even owls, artist Shannon Holt, 39, paints every little detail on models to turn them into wildlife. The incredible paintings, which take anywhere between six to 12.5 hours to complete, are part of her Florida Wildlife Series. Shannon, from DeLand, Florida, previously worked on different surfaces such as glass, metals and wood. But the animal advocate decided to experiment with human canvasses and incorporate animals in her work. Here: Red Fox. (Photo by Ryder Gledhill/Shannon Holt/Caters News)

A Miniature Dachshund (L) wears a duck bill-shaped dog muzzle while sitting in a stroller with another Miniature Dachshund at the “Interpets” international pet fair in Tokyo, Japan, April 2, 2015. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/EPA)

“A Mothers Tail”. A baby cub pulls on his mother's tail to get attention. Photo location: Masai Mara, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Tori Marsh/National Geographic Photo Contest)

The photography of Art Wolfe covers the globe, capturing landscapes, wildlife, and cultures from every continent; here he talks through a selection of his favourite images. Art Wolfe is an American photographer and conservationist. His photographs have been noted by environmental advocacy groups for their “stunning” visual impact. Here: Snowy owlets (Bubo scandiacus), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA. (Photo by Art Wolfe/Art Wolfe Stock)

Elena Ivanov, visiting from San Jose, Calif., walks across the field covered poppies in full bloom near the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, Calif., Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

An undated handout photo made available by the Zerynthia Association shows the pupa of an amicta moneiba, a recently discovered species of moth endemic to La Gomera and El Hierro islands in the Canary Islands, Spain (issued 01 July 2020), as those two islands pulled apart from the rest of the Canary Islands 2.5 million years ago. The Institute of Evolutionary Biology of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Zerynthia Association have recently discovered two new moth species in El Hierro and La Gomera. (Photo by Yeray Monasterio/Zerynthia/EPA/EFE)

A Sri Lankan leopard is pictured at a zoo in Dehiwala near Colombo on March 3, 2016, on World Wildlife Day. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)