The bewitching beauty of the best scientific personnel of the year

The Wellcome Image Awards are dedicated to the best scientific photographs and their processing techniques. Other finalists include electron micrographs of a kidney stone and head louse eggs, an X-ray of a bat, a 3D CT scan, a seal skull, and a cross-section of a flower bud.

The winning images will be displayed at four of the UK's major academic institutions as well as at the Wellcome Trust headquarters in London.

Simultaneous exhibitions will take place at the Glasgow Science Centre, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester, Techniquest in Cardiff and W5 in Belfast.

1. Mechanical heart pump in the chest, DECT

The photo was taken by Swedish scientist Anders Persson using a new type of scanner called dual energy computed tomography (DECT) angiography. The patient is scanned using two x-ray sources with different strengths. Then there is a digital transformation in three dimensions, the image can be rotated, crushed and enlarged for greater clarity.

Fergus Walsh, BBC Medical Correspondent: “The 3D image of Anders Persson with a mechanical heart in a man's chest is really amazing. The juxtaposition of delicate human anatomy and reliable mechanical units is so vivid that it seems as if the picture will now come to life.

This year's images are not only superbly executed technically, but also visually impressive. Before, I had no idea that kidney stones or nits could be so beautiful. The Wellcome Image Awards gives us a new perspective on things."

2. Embryo zebrafish

3. Nerve fibers of the brain of a healthy adult, MRI

4. Head louse egg at tip of hair, SEM

5. Kidney stone, SEM

6. Agricultural sludge sample

7. Tal's flower, SEM

8. Breast Cancer Cells Under the Influence of Nano-Size Drugs

9. Tick in the leg

10. The lower jaw of a medieval person

11. Lily flower bud CIGS

12. Semiconductor on a thin film of a solar photocell

13. Human heart tissue (aortic valve) with signs of calcification

14. Crystals of oxidized vitamin C (ascorbic acid)