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STRIKING CRANES

Hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) converge on Platte River in Nebraska as part of their annual migration. Photographer Randy Olson was taking long-exposure shots in March when lightning struck, creating these ghostly outlines.

Fig 1: un éclair sur un étang avec des échassiers (Grus canadensis) [img]. Source : Randy Olson/National Geographic 

ANCIENT IVORY

The vast tusk of a long-dead mammoth is carried out of a forest in Yakutia, Siberia. Ancient ivory from mammoths has become so valuable that some prospectors now illegally 'mine' them from permafrost. A large tusk can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Fig 2: The vast tusk of a long-dead mammoth is carried out of a forest in Yakutia, Siberia [img]. Source :Amos Chapple/Radio Free Europe

FANTASTIC FOOT

This spectacular tarsus — the lowermost segment of an insect leg — is roughly 2 millimetres in diameter and belongs to a male diving beetle, which uses it to attach to a female's back during mating.

Fig 3: This tarsus is roughly 2 millimetres in diameter and belongs to a male diving beetle [img]. Source : Igor Siwanowicz/Nikon Small World 2016 :

FIRST GLEAMING

The largest and most accurate radiosurvey of the southern sky was unveiled in October by the high-resolution Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) project. The Milky Way flows through this image, which encompasses more than 300,000 galaxies.

Fig 4:  Radiosurvey of the southern sky  by the high-resolution Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array (GLEAM) project. The Milky Way flows through this image, which encompasses more than 300,000 galaxies. [img]. Source:Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin/ICRAR), GLEAM team

SPACE STORMS

Far below the International Space Station, lightning flashes illuminate the clouds, as human activity is revealed by clusters of lights. Two Russian spacecraft visiting the station can be seen in the foreground.

Fig 5:  Behind International Space Station, lightning flashes illuminate the clouds,  [img]. Source :NASA

CRYSTAL STEPS

These strange structures are calcium carbonate crystals, imaged at 2,000× magnification.

Fig 6: calcium carbonate crystals, imaged at 2,000× magnification. [img]. Source :NASA Christine Kimpton/RPS International Images for Science 2016

SEE-THROUGH AND SMALL

In August, a team in Germany unveiled 'ultimate DISCO' — a technique that both renders tissues transparent and shrinks specimens, so that a whole animal can be imaged in one go. The technique can reveal the nervous system and organ systems within a body in unprecedented detail.

Fig 7: a technique that both renders tissues transparent and shrinks specimens, so that a whole animal can be imaged in one go.  [img]. Source: C. Pan et al./Nature Methods

STRIKING CELL

This human stem cell is just 15 micrometres across, and was false-coloured after being imaged using cryogenic scanning electron microscopy.

Fig 8: This human stem cell is just 15 was false-coloured after being imaged using cryogenic scanning electron microscopy. [img]. Source : S. A Ferreira, C. Lopo & E. Gentleman, KCL/Wellcome

A PERSONAL VIEW OF THE NEWS

In compiling this year's collection of stunning photographs, members of the Nature team each identified an image that said something special about science. Here is their personal take on the past 12 months.

SHARK WATCH

Lizzy Brown (Associate media editor): "This picture of a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) was taken by James Lea on a field trip in the Seychelles earlier this year. Lea and his colleagues have been tracking sharks to test the effectiveness of local marine protected areas. The image stood out thanks to its simple composition and the way it evokes a sense of eerie calm, with the menace of the shark lurking just beneath the surface."

Fig 9: Carcharhinus melanopterus [img]. Source : James Lea

FINAL FROG

Kelly Krause (Creative director): "If I have one photography soft spot, it's frogs. The shine, that smile, the eyes you fall into. This one, shot by legendary wildlife photographer Joel Sartore, is the world's last Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog (Ecnomiohyla rabborum), named Toughie. He died this year — his species is now extinct."

Fig 10 :  world's last Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog (Ecnomiohyla rabborum), named Toughie. He died this year — his species is now extinct. [img]. Source : Joel Sartore/NGC

L'article est  ici doi:10.1038/540500a