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)

These Arab recruits line up in a barracks square in the British Mandate of Palestine, on December 28, 1940, for their first drill under a British solider. Some 6,000 Palestinian Arabs signed up with the British Army during the course of World War II. (AP Photo)

A displaced Palestinian plays on a swing at the beach, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 31, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

English television presenter Maya Jama attends The Fashion Awards 2022 at the Royal Albert Hall on December 05, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Backgrid UK)

A girl wears a cheongsam during a fashion show at a shopping mall in South Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia on February 8, 2024. (Photo by Sulthony Hasanuddin/Antara Foto via Reuters)

People attend the New Year's eve gala of youth and students at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, December 31, 2023. (Photo by Jon Chol Jin/AP Photo)

Orlando Pirates fan reacts during the Premier Soccer League (PSL) South African Premier Division football match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on March 9, 2024. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP Photo)

Vendors selling bread wait for customers at a roadside hotel in Quetta on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Banaras Khan/AFP Photo)