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)

People take part in a protest outside the Department for Education, London, Sunday August 16, 2020, in response to the A-level results. The British government has been urged to “get a grip” over how grades are being awarded to school students, who were unable to take exams earlier this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest confusion emerged late Saturday when England’s exam regulator launched a review on its own just-published guidance on how students can appeal grades awarded under a complicated system. (Photo by London News Pictures/The Sun)

Members of the Women's veteran movement take part in the March of Defenders of Ukraine as part of Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations, in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 24, 2020. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Men walk towards law enforcement with their hands up on August 24, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A second night of civil unrest occurred after the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, on August 23. Blake was shot multiple times in the back by Wisconsin police officers after attempting to enter into the drivers side of a vehicle. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Students wearing masks rest amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, August 25, 2020. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

St. Senans' Aoife Allen competing in the Women's 3000m Steeplechase at Morton Stadium in Santry, Co. Dublin ob August 30, 2020 during the 2020 National Track & Field Championships. (Photo by Morgan Treacy/INPHO/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman looks at an artwork during the preview of the Art Paris 2020 held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, September 9, 2020. Originally scheduled for April, Art Paris, France's second-biggest modern and contemporary art fair, opens its door to the public from Sept. 10 to 13. (Photo by Chine Nouvelle/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A protestor is detained following the grand jury verdict on September 23, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Protesters marched in the streets after a Kentucky grand jury indicts one of the three officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police officers during a no-knock warrant at her apartment on March 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)