A veterinarian takes a sample from a cat at an animal shelter in Yeoju, southeast of Seoul, South Korea, 01 August 2023, after cats were found to have been infected with a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain at shelters in Seoul on 25 and 29 July, marking the first infections of the virus in mammals since 2016. (Photo by Yonhap/EPA)

In this photo taken Sunday, March 12, 2017, a girl Abuk walks home with her brothers and friends after collecting clean water from a water point four kilometers away from her home, in Aweil, in South Sudan. As World Water Day approaches on March 22, more than 5 million people in South Sudan, do not have access to safe, clean water, compounding the problems of famine and civil war, according to the UNICEF. (Photo by Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin/UNICEF via AP Photo)

A Berber Moroccan woman, wearing traditional outfits, parades during the “Miss Rose” beauty contest as part of the yearly Rose Festival on May 13, 2016 in the town of Kelaat Mgouna, at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. (Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP Photo)

Savita, a street performer, helps her dog to balance on empty tin containers as they perform at a roadside in Ahmedabad September 7, 2014. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A drone flies above World Surf League World Title winner Hawaian surfer John John Florence during the final heat of the Portuguese stage of the World Surf League championship at Supertubos beach near Peniche, central Portugal, on October 25, 2016. (Photo by Francisco Leong/AFP Photo)

Sunrise over St Mary's lighthouse north of Whitley Bay on the coast of north east England on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)

The worst drought in 40 years has a cruel grip on Somalia. A struggling young government and militant violence have compounded to bring crisis to 6.7 million lives. The town of Baidoa is facing some of the harshest conditions. Surrounded by territory controlled by al-Shabaab militants and amid ongoing attacks, 160,000 people have had to leave their farms and are surviving in camps where hunger, thirst and cholera await them. (Photo by Peter Caton/Mercy Corps)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)