See the world in close-up in these intricate pictures of nature

These beautiful pictures reveal a few of the intricate views of animals and vegetation captured by researchers from 29 nations who entered the Evident Picture of the 12 months competitors. The prize recognises the very best in scientific microscopic imaging worldwide.

The successful entry (pictured above) reveals a cross-section of a bloom from the “Cosmic Orange” number of the Mexican aster (Cosmos sulphureus), with pollen grains maturing inside its anthers. It was taken by Igor Siwanowicz, a analysis neurobiologist on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia.

Siwanowicz, who collected the flower buds for his shot on a post-lunch stroll across the campus pond, stated in an announcement concerning the prize that he selected to enter the picture as a result of it “shows that the beauty of a common flower that most of us take for granted can extend beyond what we can see with the naked eye”.

“The beauty of natural form and design is present on very different scales, sometimes almost in a fractal manner – as we continue to zoom in, the form may lose familiarity, but also become a new emotional experience,” he stated.

The opposite pictures proven right here all received honourable mentions within the contest for his or her views of a wide range of animals. Within the shot second from high, Laurent Formery used vivid stains to focus on the skeleton of a juvenile sea star (Patiria miniata) from the Asterinidae household.

Above is a picture of a cuckoo wasp, resplendent in its iridescent colors, captured by Raghuram Annadana, with the picture under exhibiting a zebrafish head, taken by Yue Rong Tan.