Beautifully educational

During the course of research, scientists not only take images of educational value, but photographs that are as beautiful as they are informative; we take a look at some of the images in this year's BBSRC science photo competition

During the course of research, scientists not only take images of educational value, but photographs that are as beautiful as they are informative; we take a look at some of the images in this year's BBSRC science photo competition

Concepts category winner
A Caledonian crow using a stick to fish food from a small hole: Jolyon Troscianko, University of Birmingham

The brief was create an image that captured the excitement of new knowledge, the intricacies of research and the sheer beauty of the natural world, and this year's entrant to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) annual science photo competition stuck to it perfectly.


The images – from BBSRC-supported researchers and BBSRC PhD students – were entered into one of three categories; Concepts; Agriculture, Food, Diet and Health; and People. There were 121 images from 44 entrants each judged on aesthetic merit as well as the ability to convey complex scientific subjects in research, issues in science and society, life in research, and contemporary topics in bioscience.


Paul Gemmill, BBSRC director of communications and information management said: "The entrants gave the competition judges a difficult job because the standard of images entered for the competition was remarkably high. The creative flair shown by scientists in our community is impressive and their skill in using photographs to communicate ideas in bioscience is highly commendable. We would like to congratulate the winners and thank everyone who entered for their efforts in creating these really wonderful images."

The winner of each category received £500 worth of vouchers to purchase photographic equipment and with the runners receiving £100 worth of vouchers. The overall winner was awarded vouchers worth £700. The images will also appear in BBSRC Business magazine and other related publications.

Agriculture, Food, Diet and Health category winner
Mites, springtails and other insects collected from a soil sample: Felicity Crotty, North Wyke Research

Concepts category runner up
Southern Resident killer whale: Emma Foster, University of Leeds

People category runner up
Composite image of a researcher using a pipette with an overlay of equations: Marcus Fischer, University of York

People category winner
Fisherman catching wild salmon in Puget Sound, USA: Emma Foster, University of Leeds

Agriculture, Food, Diet and Health category runner up
Composite image showing tiny blood vessels from skeletal muscle intertwined with smoke: Rob Wüst, University of Leeds

Overall winner
An Asian Weaver ant, upside down carrying a weight in its jaws: Thomas Endlein, University of Cambridge


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