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The Wellcome Trust is a charity that funds health research. For ten years it has awarded prizes for pictures that creatively explore the fields of medicine, social history, healthcare and biology. Thanks to the New Scientist here are some winning images from this year. See many more pictures here.

Scanning electron micrograph of a seed from a bird-of-paradise flower.

This plant is native to South Africa and has a distinctive orange and blue flower, which resembles an exotic bird. The seed was originally bought to become the study of a watercolour painting by Annie Cavanagh, but Dave McCarthy's interest in it produced this stunning image.

The moment of human conception from an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure.

The ovum (brown) is much larger than the sperm and is surrounded by protective cumulus cells (yellow). The membrane surrounding the ovum is the zona pellucida. The head of the sperm carries enzymes to dissolve the zona pellucida, allowing it to fertilise the egg.

This light microscope image by Spike Walker is of blood capillaries in the ciliary body of an ox's eye: the tiny holes that secrete a liquid called aqueous humour are shown. This liquid provides most of the nutrients for the lens and cornea.

Sensory nerve endings at the end of a hair follicle.

Sensory nerves respond to stimuli to communicate movement, pressure and pain. The colours in this image were created by treating the tissue with silver nitrate and then processing it like photographic film. The nerve axons are stained black.

Another image by Spike Walker shows plankton. In this image he uses Rheinberg illumination, whereby coloured discs are used to provide vibrant colours, making fast-moving plankton visible against a brilliant blue background.

Plankton are small organisms, plant or animal, that drift in the sea with little or no locomotive ability. They are split into two main categories: phytoplankton, which are plant plankton that drift close to the surface and rely on photosynthesis for energy; and zooplankton, which are animals and include small protozoans or metazoans that normally feed on other plankton.

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Extreme Observatories

September 21st 2009 21:49

The view of the heavens is different depending on where you stand on our grand planet, hence the necessity to place space observatories in some of the most extreme locations and environments. However, these grand installations aren't limited to astronomy. Geology, oceanography and volcanology are just some examples of uses for modern day observatories. Thanks to the Discovery Channel, these are some of the most extraordinary observatories on the face of our planet. Find more information and pictures here.

The South Pole Telescope

If Svalbard's world of ice and seed vaults isn't extreme enough for you, then check out the South Pole Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) South Pole Station. At this post, there's no braving nine miles of polar bear-infested roads for a night at the nearest cinema. We're talking the Antarctic Plateau here, a barren plain atop a two-mile-thick glacier that's nearly devoid of naturally occurring life.

The station's massive, 33-foot South Pole Telescope measures cosmic background radiation (CBR), which inundates Earth from every direction after travelling billions of years through space. To properly observe the radiation, you need a clear sky with little or no moisture to absorb the precious light. The South Pole provides as clear a window into space as you could hope for without leaving the atmosphere.

Despite the rather hostile environment, South Pole astronomers actually enjoy nice digs at the $153 million Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The elevated facility (which replaced a more primitive dome, built in 1975) houses a gym, greenhouse, recreation areas, research facilities and enough room to accommodate between 50 and 150 people.

astronomy observatory. James Bond Goldeneye

Arecibo Observatory

Let's ditch the snowscapes for a bit and head straight into the jungles of Puerto Rico. There, we'll find one of the more outstanding telescopes -- a place where geology and technology merge.

Boasting a 1,000-foot reflector, the Arecibo Observatory is the largest single-unit radio telescope in the world. Rather than construct the massive framework that a reflector dish would require, its designers situated it in one of the area's naturally bowl-shaped limestone sinkholes. The observatory's equatorial location also puts it in an excellent position to study not only the ionosphere, but also nearby planets that cross its path.

The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) built the telescope in 1963. Since then, Arecibo has operated around the clock to help radio astronomy, planetary radar and terrestrial aeronomy researchers from all over the world. More than four decades after it first scanned the stars, it remains one of the most powerful radar-radio telescopes on the planet. On a much lesser note, it's also the only telescope that James Bond has ever snuffed a villain in (see 1995's "GoldenEye").

The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

If you've ever stared long and hard into the sun, chances are that you've either got a high tolerance for pain or you're a solar astronomer (or possibly both?). In order to study the sun, you obviously have to be able to look at it, a task that requires special equipment. On the cheaper end of the spectrum, this might entail an amateur pinhole or telescope projector setup. But if you want to get fancy, you could use a 200-foot-long unobstructed aperture optical telescope buried in the side of an Arizona mountain.

It may look like it belongs in the Guggenheim or the Tate Modern, but the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak is the largest solar instrument in the world. With a 5.25-foot lens diameter, it's also the planet's largest unobstructed aperture optical telescope.

A 100-foot tower holds up one end of the slanted telescope, while the rest of it continues into the side of the mountain. Like an iceberg, there's more of it under the surface than above. A three-mirror heliostat directs sunlight down the shaft, where it's reflected through mirrors for viewing and analysis. Astronomers use the solar telescope to study sunspots, solar flares solar emissions and solar composition. The instrument is even powerful enough to study some of the brighter stars at night.

The Super-K Subterranean Neutrino Observatory

Whoa, there! A subterranean observatory? How is an astronomer supposed to study the stars when he or she is buried nearly a mile under a mountain in the Japanese Alps? Welcome to the world of neutrino astronomy -- and the beautiful and bizarre observatory that scientists nicknamed "the glass cathedral."

The Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) neutrino observatory looks like something from a 1970s space comic -- even a "Moonraker" era James Bond wouldn't kill someone inside this thing. It's essentially a giant cylinder lined with 11,000 glass photomultiplier tubes and filled with 50,000 tons of crystal-clear water. Constructed in an abandoned zinc mine, the observatory resembles an artificial subterranean pond. Maintenance crews even take a small boat out to inspect the tubes.

The Super-K observatory exists because of something known as Cherenkov radiation, which is produced by charged particles and scattered by neutrinos in the water. The particles, zipping around even faster than the speed of light, emit a measurable glow, called Cherenkov radiation. The glass tubes lining the inside of the observatory detect this glow and the resulting information helps astronomers to, among other things, identify supernovae.

Stonehenge

In a sense, archaeology is much like astronomy. Scientists attempt to understand the birth of the universe through the remnants of long-dead stars, while some archaeologists try to fathom the people of 2000 B.C. by examining the ruins of Stonehenge in the United Kingdom.

There in the English county of Wiltshire, enormous 50-ton stones form a 320-foot diameter ring. Although the monument's true purpose remains a mystery, some researchers theorize that the ancient site constitutes one of the world's first observatories. English astronomer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer gave this theory some credence by demonstrating that Stonehenge's northeast axis aligns with the sunrise at the summer solstice. Prehistoric humans may have used the stones to predict what times of the year to perform various agricultural tasks or religious rituals -- a kind of calendar.

Other theories abound as well. Was it a burial ground? A tribute to a fertility goddess? Try to imagine the world 5,000 years from now. If they lacked records of life in the 21st century, what might they make of the ruins of Arecibo, Super-K or any of the other observatories on this list?

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Moon Landing: Sceptic or Believer?

July 24th 2009 04:36

The 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission landing man on the moon has just passed. It is one of mankind’s greatest achievements, however many people believe the whole thing was a hoax shot in a studio. Do these sceptics have a case?
Thanks the The Guardian lets take a look at some of the most popular claims. Find more information here.

The Flag

Sceptic: The Stars and Stripes appears to be waving in the wind, which is impossible without an atmosphere. Some of those so-called scientists at Nasa should have done their homework a bit better
Believer: The flag did not need wind to move, and does not move in any of the videos unless touched. When it is set in motion, the lack of atmosphere and hence air resistance mean the flag takes a long time to settle.

Boot Prints

Sceptic: Boots would only have left their imprint on the lunar surface in moist material. Try leaving your footprint on a dry sandy beach
Believer: Particles of moon dust have a different size and shape from sand and don't need moisture to hold a compressed shape. Many powders on Earth can behave in the same way. Try walking in spilt talcum powder.

Stars

Sceptic: Space is full of stars, as any 10-year-old will tell you, so why do they not appear in photographs taken on the moon?
Believer: The astronauts were taking pictures of brightly lit, shiny white objects. Under those conditions photographers shoot with a fast exposure time and small aperture. That makes it impossible to capture faint objects in a dark background, such as stars.

Exhaust Flames

Sceptic: There was no exhaust flame spurting from beneath the lunar module when it blasted off from the moon. It's clearly a model being pulled up on a wire
Believer: The Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo into space burnt liquid oxygen and kerosene, creating a dramatically fiery plume. The lunar lander, on the other hand, was propelled by a mixture of nitrogen tetroxide and Aerozine 50, which doesn't. Its exhaust gases were transparent.

Hubble Space telescope. Point to the moon.

Rubbish Left Behind

Sceptic: Nasa could end all the moon conspiracy claims tomorrow by using the Hubble Space Telescope (above) to take pictures of the equipment left behind. But of course it doesn't. I wonder why not?
Believer: While Hubble has sent back astonishing images from the ends of the universe, the galaxies, supernovae and nebulae it has revealed all have one thing in common: they are very, very big. The largest piece of man-made rubbish on the moon is what remains of the Eagle lander, about 10m across. That’s just too small for Hubble to see.

Still believe the moon landings were faked?

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Twist Together Lamps

July 15th 2009 02:24

For many of us as kids, playing with Lego was a favourite pastime, now you can apply those skills learned to some interior decorating!

These lamps which are produced by the Glide company run on LEDs to keep power usage low. The best part is they can be joined together and twisted the full 360 degrees giving you an endless possible combination of structures and colours.

With enough lamps, you can even turn them into works of art. The below was found at the Museum of Modern Art’s Midtown Manhattan store.

Twist Lamp Tree

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What is HDTV?

June 5th 2009 13:09

Exactly what is the difference between regular TV and High Definition Television?

The graphics below will explain.

Difference with high definition television

*Image source.

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Incredible X-Ray Images

March 30th 2009 09:12

X-Rays have become an essential part of medical diagnosis. They also give us incredible insights and amazing images.
It's astonishing what some people can survive!

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The Early Days of Apple Mac

February 6th 2009 05:18

Thanks to the Telegraph, today let's take a look at some of the first computers sold by Apple Inc.

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Don't Order Birthday Cakes Online

February 4th 2009 05:08

Can you guess what happened here?
Apparently this cake was ordered online and the printing process is automated. As such the error occurred and no-one at the cake company noticed!

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Inventions That Enhanced Laziness

January 7th 2009 13:23

Humans are always looking at ways to make our lives easier. The inventions below have achieved this goal more than most. Thanks to mentalfloss for pointing out these fantastic ideas.

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Effects of Static Electricity on Hair

December 22nd 2008 09:10

Static electricity is the build-up of charge on the surface of objects. Using machines such as a Van de Graaff generator, with its hollow metal sphere commonly seen at science discovery centres a large amount of static electricity can be built up on a person. When this occurs, that persons hair becomes charged and as like charges repel each other the hairs all stand on end to get as far away from each other as possible. The results can be quite amusing, as seen in the pictures below.

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An Honest Desktop

August 20th 2008 12:19

What if your desktop icons and applications told things the way they really are?
The result would look something like the desktop below:

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Truthful Website Logos

May 28th 2008 02:40

What would popular website logos look like if they told the truth as to what they were really about?

Our friends at College Humour came up with some excellent examples

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