Harry Sprinkle eats a meal at St. John's Bread and Life, a free meal service, on December 23, 2011 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. St. John's Bread and Life serves approximately 2,200 meals per day; the organization has existed since 1982. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

“Microscope images forge an extraordinary bond between science and art, said Hidenao Tsuchiya, Olympus America's Vice President and General Manager for the Scientific Equipment Group. We founded this competition to focus on the fascinating stories coming out of today's life science research laboratories. The thousands of images that people have shared with the competition over the years reflect some of the most exciting work going on in research today – work that can help shed light on the living universe and ultimately save lives. We look at BioScapes and these beautiful images as sources of education and inspiration to us and the world”. – OlympusBioScapes

Photo: Pretarsus of the third leg of a female drone fly (Eristalis tenax), ventral view, by Dr. Jan Michels, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. (Photo by Olympus BioScapes)

Mark Trotter and Luke Thompson of New Zealand compete in the Senior Prearranged Sparring on the final day of the 2011 ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships at TSB Bank Arena on March 13, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Victoria's Secret angels Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Alessandra Ambrosio and Miranda Kerr arrive at the 2011 Victoria's Secret SWIM Collection Pink Carpet Event hosted by VS Angels at Club L on March 30, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark serves to Alisa Kleybanova of Russia during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 15, 2011 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Ali Carter of England looks on during the match against Stuart Bingham of England during the 2011 China Open at Beijing University Students Gymnasium on March 30, 2011 in Beijing, China.

A model showcases designs on the catwalk during Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Taiwan Shin Chien University Graduates Collection show of China Fashion Week A/W 2011 on March 25, 2011 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)