This is one boy's amazing picture diary of his pet rodents doing very human tasks. Colin Mclaughlin, from Maryland, USA, has created a hilarious photo collection of his pet guinea pigs, Chester and Sam. (Photo by Colin Mclaughlin/Caters News)

A humanoid dental patient robot, named Hanako Showa, about to be used during a demonstration of dental treatment at Showa University on March 25, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan. The robot was co-developed by the university and tmsuk co. Ltd, and simulates real human patients. The robot has been used for training of procedures in which the dental treatment requires a high level of precision. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Photographer Tyler Shields had become comfortable, a feeling he found “terrible” as an artist. He wanted to do something challenging, something that pushed the human boundaries. So he spent a year documenting heights, fear, energy and falling – a series he calls “Suspense”. Photo: “Balloon”. (Photo by Tyler Shields)

Mortsafes were contraptions designed to protect graves from disturbance. Resurrectionists had supplied the schools of anatomy in Scotland since the early 18th century. This was due to the necessity for medical students to learn anatomy by attending dissections of human subjects, which was frustrated by the very limited allowance of dead bodies – for example the corpses of executed criminals – granted by the government, which controlled the supply.

“They’ve been obsessing me for years. I searched and found them in Benares, on the banks of the river Gange (India). They arrive here to get rid of everything and to wait for death. This existence can last for years, sometimes decades, almost a life. Opposite to mine, well organised and filled as a human life can be, to try in vain to push the limits of its end”. – Denis Rouvre. (Photo by Denis Rouvre)

This barking set of images takes the saying “dogs look like their owners” to the ultimate conclusion. Photographer Sebastian Magnani, 28, has cleverly spliced the features of four-legged friends with the head and shoulders of their owners. In a series called “Underdogs”, the Swiss photographer shot the owners and their respective pets in the same portrait style. Then he used expert photo-manipulation techniques to seamlessly transplant the canine faces onto the human bodies. (Photo by Sebastian Magnani)

Visitors look at a plastinated gorilla on the opening day at the Body World Animals exhibition at the Cologne Zoo on April 15, 2011 in Cologne, Germany. The exhibition is by Gunther von Hagens, who uses a special process to preserve real bodies, whether animal or human, in order to display the inner organs, muscles and other physical elements. The exhibition will be open to the public until September 30.

Susan Lordi's art reflects our relationships with people and the world around us. Her keen observation of the human form is further inspired by dance, art history, nature, and personal experiences with family and friends. These influences are revealed in her Willow Tree® sculptures, from which emotion is communicated through gestures only.