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)

Volunteer of the SICS “Italian rescue dog school”, during a water rescue training session, inside the Averno lake in Pozzuoli. Italy, on October 26, 2024. (Photo by Vincenzo Izzo/Sipa USA)

In this Saturday, September 5, 2015, photo, three women in costumes look at sea life swimming above them during a private party held at the Georgia Aquarium as part of Dragon Con in Atlanta. The convention draws fans from around the country to take part in sci-fi and fantasy costume contests, a massive parade through downtown Atlanta and educational seminars about science and costume making. (Photo by Ron Harris/AP Photo)

Muslim women light candles during the “EarthHour” in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 23, 2013. Hundreds of people observed the global event that encourages people to turn off their lights for 60 minutes. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/Associated Press)

A hot air balloon in tortoise shape flies in the air during the Tazaungdaing air balloon festival in Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar, 25 November 2015. During the festival, hot air balloons made of multicolored papers and hung with paper lanterns, fireworks and fire sticks are exploded in mid-air. (Photo by Hein Htet/EPA)

A man performs a split as he practices Kung Fu at Beihai Park in Beijing, China August 20, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

Demonstrators hold masks depicting Colombian citizen Mile Virginia, who was murdered along with photojournalist Ruben Espinosa and three other women, during a protest in Mexico City, August 16, 2015. Espinosa, a prominent Mexican news photographer was among five people found dead in a middle-class neighborhood of the capital on July 31, 2015. Espinosa, who worked for the weekly magazine Proceso and the photo agency Cuartoscuro, had sought shelter in Mexico City earlier this summer saying he had been followed and threatened in the eastern state of Veracruz. (Photo by Tomas Bravo/Reuters)

Car headlights illuminate a woman walking through city streets as snow accumulates on December 16, 2020 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Winter Storm Gail is expected to bring more than a foot of snow in parts of the Northeast. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)