This year, amid the muddle of grainy micrographs and dimly lit photos of test subjects, readers of life science news were treated to some truly beautiful imagery. We at The Scientist often feature such visuals in our daily newsletter and on Facebook and Twitter. Here are eight of our favorite Image of the Day posts from the last 12 months.
Disappearing Act
Global land-use changes have put more bird species at risk of extinction than previously estimated, including this purplish-mantled tanager, which could disappear as a result of deforestation.
AAAS, NATALIA OCAMPO-PEÑUELA
Head Start
The marine worm Schizocardium californicum starts its life cycle as little more than a swimming, translucent head.
HOPKINS MARINE STATION, PAUL GONZALEZ
Sea-Dwelling Symbionts
Scientists date the origin of symbiosis between coral and algae to 210 million years ago.
POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, JAROSLAW STOLARSKI; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, ISABELLE DOMART-COULON
Staying Warm
Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) huddle close in a snowstorm.
ROYAL SOCIETY, ALEXANDRE BONNEFOY
Bygone Battle
Two fighting ants from different species have been trapped in this Burmese amber for 100 million years.
AMNH, D. GRIMALDI AND P. BARDEN
Light Ray
Engineers designed a soft-bodied robot shaped like a stingray, which—powered by rat heart muscle cells—can swim toward light.
KARAGHEN HUDSON AND MICHAEL ROSNACH
Beetle Brain
The nervous system of a horned dung beetle (Onthophagus sagittarius) just before the completion of metamorphosis.
FASEB 2016 BIOART CONTEST, ZATTARA ET AL.
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