Year’s Best Biological Photos Capture the Artistry of Science and Photos by Igor Siwanowicz

igor-1 — Acilius diving beetle male front tarsus (foot) 100x

Photos by Igor Siwanowicz

Photographer and neurobiologist Igor Siwanowicz captures the striking complexity of insects using a laser-scanning microscope.

“His brilliantly colored images show the tree-like structures of moth antennas, the wild details of barnacle legs, and the otherworldly shapes of plant spores. The photos are made with a confocal laser-scanning microscope capable of ‘seeing’ vast amounts of detail beyond what you might capture with a traditional lens-based microscope.”

via Synaptic Stimuli, Wired

igor-4 — *Paraphyses & Sporangia ,Igor Siwanowicz*

igor-6 — Front leg of whirligig beetle, *Igor Siwanowicz*

ImageJ=1.45s channels=3 mode=composite loop=false min=0.0 max=4095.0 — Moth antennae, detail, *Igor Siwanowicz*

The finalists of the 2017

Hawaiian Bobtail Squid. Image via Macroscopic Solutions.

1489028466_485_years-best-biological-photos-capture-the-artistry-of-science.jpeg — Misreplication of DNA in human fibroblast. Image via Ezequiel Miron, University of Oxford.

Mouse embryonic posterior neuropore. Image via Gabriel Galea, UCL.

Graphical visualization of Tweets using the hashtag #breastcancer. Image via Eric Clarke, Richard Arnett, and Jane Burns.

wellcome-image-awards-science-photos-10 — Astrocytes and blood vessels of a mouse’s retina. Image via Gabriel Luna, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1489028466_561_years-best-biological-photos-capture-the-artistry-of-science.jpeg — Artificial microRNA scaffold. Image via João Conde, Nuria Oliva and Natalie Artzi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Immune system regulation of placental development of a mouse. Image via Suchita Nadkarni.

Iris clip Intra-ocular lens in-situ. Image via Cambridge University Hospitals NHS FT.

Brain Organoid. Image via Collin Edington and Iris Lee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

3D print of vessels of a healthy minipig. Image via Dr. Peter M Maloca.

Cat skin showing hairs, a whisker, and the blood supply. Image via David Linstead.

Image: Ingrid Lekk and Steve Wilson, University College London

wellcome-image-awards-science-photos-4 — Microvasculature of the African Grey Parr. Image via Scott Birch.

wellcome-image-awards-science-photos-8 — Synthetic DNA channel transporting cargo. Image via Michael Northrop.

Year’s Best Biological Photos Capture the Artistry of Science

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The finalists of the 2017 Wellcome Image Awards have been announced, showcasing the best science-related imagery from the past year. This year’s crop features a bioluminescent squid, a high-tech contact lens, and a microscopic ‘brain’ on a chip.

The winners will be announced on March 15 at the Wellcome Trust in London. Judges will be evaluating the images for quality, technique, visual impact, and their ability to communicate and engage. Here are our favorites.

h/t: Gizmodo