The best science images of 2021

A helicopter on Mars, human–monkey embryos, volcanic ash and more.

A photobioreactor at Algalif facilities in Reykjanesbaer, Iceland.

COVID-19 continued to dominate lives in 2021. But the year also produced many stunning science images unrelated to the pandemic. From human–monkey embryos to volcanic ash, here are the most striking shots that caught the attention of Nature’s news and art teams.

House is covered by ash from a volcano that erupts on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain.

Credit: Emilio Morenatti/AP/Shutterstock

Credit: Emilio Morenatti/AP/Shutterstock

Volcanic ash. The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands in September left vast areas of land buried by ash. The volcano also spewed out a huge volume of lava, which destroyed hundreds of homes as it flowed all the way to the island’s west coast, eventually spilling over the cliffs and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Laser-assisted nanomanufacturing techniques to design novel hierarchical 2D materials architectures (the jungle) on flat surfaces (the beach), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image.

Credit: Parvin Fathi-Hafshejani and Seyed Adib Taba, Auburn University/NanoArtography 

Credit: Parvin Fathi-Hafshejani and Seyed Adib Taba, Auburn University/NanoArtography 

Nano beach. This tropical scene is just one-quarter of a millimetre tall. It is made from molybdenum disulfide nanostructures, shaped using a laser and imaged with a scanning electron microscope. Artificial colours complete the minuscule masterpiece, which won third place in the 2021 Nanoartography competition.

SS Thistlegorm is a 126 metre long merchant ship that was bombed and sunk in 1941.

Credit: Simon Brown/RPS Science Photographer of the Year

Credit: Simon Brown/RPS Science Photographer of the Year

Shipwreck shot. SS Thistlegorm was a British Merchant Navy ship that sank in the Red Sea during the Second World War. The wreck is slowly becoming part of the local coral reef. Photographer Simon Brown captured this image of the ship in 15,005 frames, each adjusted to give a ‘straight down’ view before being tagged with GPS data and merged with the others.

Credit: Paula Diaz, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile/Nikon Small World

Cell close-up. PhD student Paula Diaz used fluorescence microscopy to capture this colourful image of a rat embryo’s dorsal root ganglion, a group of sensory nerve cells that detect pain, among other things. The shot won fourth place in the 2021 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.

Credit: Weizhi Ji, Kunming University of Science and Technology

Hybrid embryo. In April, scientists reported successfully growing the first monkey embryos containing human cells. Human–animal hybrids might one day provide better models for testing drugs, or be used to grow human organs for transplants. But the field has also raised ethical questions.

Sensory neuron from an embryonic rat. Fluorescence.

Credit: Paula Diaz, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile/Nikon Small World

Credit: Paula Diaz, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile/Nikon Small World

Chimera Blastocyst.

Credit: Weizhi Ji, Kunming University of Science and Technology

Credit: Weizhi Ji, Kunming University of Science and Technology

This video has no sound. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman and Brian P. Powell

This video has no sound. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman and Brian P. Powell

Black holes. This visualization shows how two supermassive black holes would distort light emanating from the hot gases around them. To create it, astrophysicist Jeremy Schnittman at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, used a supercomputer to calculate the path taken by light rays through the warped space-time around the simulated black holes.

Composite image of a South African springhare holding a snack under normal light, and same aglow under UV.

Credit: J. Martin and E. Olson, Northland College/Olson et al. 2021, Scientific Reports

Credit: J. Martin and E. Olson, Northland College/Olson et al. 2021, Scientific Reports

Raving rodent. The South African springhare (Pedetes capensis) fluoresces hot pink under ultraviolet light, researchers reported in February. The function of the striking patterns and intense colour — which are unique among known biofluorescent mammals — is a mystery.

A photobioreactor at Algalif facilities in Reykjanesbaer, Iceland.

Credit: Simone Tramonte/WaterBear and CIWEM

Credit: Simone Tramonte/WaterBear and CIWEM

Plant life. Inside these stacks of tubes, microalgae exposed to ultraviolet light produce astaxanthin — a red pigment that is extracted and sold as a dietary supplement. The system is part of a bioreactor facility run by Icelandic company Algalif. It runs on geothermal electricity and uses an ultra-energy-efficient lighting system.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter deployed before dropping from the Perseverance rover.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Martian Ingenuity. This year, missions from China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates arrived at Mars. This photo, snapped by a camera on NASA’s Perseverance rover, shows its helicopter Ingenuity being lowered onto the red planet’s surface. In April, Ingenuity became the first machine to achieve powered flight on another planet.

A crew tries to extinguish a s​pot fire spawned by the Caldor​ fire near Meyers, Calif., Mon​day, Aug. 30, 2021.

Credit: Max Whittaker/NYT/Redux/eyevine

Credit: Max Whittaker/NYT/Redux/eyevine

Burning up. This year the United States was once again ravaged by extreme wildfires, exacerbated by heatwaves linked to climate change. Here, firefighters in California battle a blaze near the southern shore of Lake Tahoe, where thousands of people were evacuated in late summer.

Anolis lizard rebreathes exhaled air underwater using a bubble clinging to their snouts.

Credit: Lindsey Swierk

Credit: Lindsey Swierk

Scuba divers. Evolutionary biologists reported that some species of Anolis lizard have adapted to re-breathe exhaled air underwater, using a bubble on their snouts. The trick allows them to stay submerged for more than 15 minutes, hiding from predators.

40 million year old gnat in Baltic amber. Image Stacking.

Credit: Levon Biss/Nikon Small World

Credit: Levon Biss/Nikon Small World

Ancient insect. This portrait of a 40-million-year-old gnat in amber, by photographer Levon Biss, got an honourable mention in the 2021 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.


A personal view of the news

In compiling this year’s collection of striking science images, Nature’s media and news editors identified a photograph that said something special to them. Here is their take on the past 12 months.

An elderly resident reacts as a wildfire approaches her house in the village of Gouves, on the island of Evia, Greece, on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021. Thousands of residents were evacuated from the Greek island of Evia by boat after wildfires hit Greeces second biggest island
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) female cubs aged 1 month in incubator, Beauval ZooPark, France 9 September
Nyiragongo volcano spewing lava towards the crowded city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A narrow strip where the road runs, divides the green and fresh waters, with the trees growing and all the life waiting for, from the ochre and toxic waters of a nearby mine reservoir, where there aren’t trees and the life is dead. Rio Tinto, Huelva, Spain
Accra, Ghana - A man scavenging walks among the cattle that graze on the top of a huge mound of discarded second-hand clothing at a rubbish dump in the Old Fadama area of Accra. This is where much of the second-hand clothing imported from Europe and the USA, but of too poor quality to be sold in the Kantamanto second-hand clothing market, ends up being dumped

Flames and fury. Tom Houghton (Media editor). Despite the abundance of incredible photography that has crossed my desk this year, I struggle to think of a moment more moving than the one captured by Bloomberg photographer Konstantinos Tsakalidis on the island of Evia, Greece. This woman’s anguish as the raging wildfire draws closer to her house is heartbreaking. The colour and composition reminds me of the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch. No matter how many times I look at it, it remains both beautiful and upsetting. Credit: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg via Getty

Twin pandas. Jessica Hallett (Associate media editor). Earlier this year, giant panda Huan Huan gave birth to twin female cubs at Beauval ZooParc in France. It was such a joy to see the safe delivery of these newborns, and even more so to see them in this picture, healthy and thriving at one month old. This story stands out to me as a real glimmer of hope, a welcome break from the doom and gloom of the past couple of years. I can’t wait to follow the twins’ progress and see even more gorgeous images of them growing up. Credit: Eric Baccega/Nature Picture Library

Goma evacuation. Lizzy Brown (Managing media editor). When the volcano Mount Nyiragongo suddenly started spewing lava towards the crowded city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, photojournalist Guerchom Ndebo was there to document the mass evacuation of the city in the middle of the night, under the glow of light from the crater. Scientists fear that further volcanic activity in the area could lead to a ‘limnic eruption’ from nearby Lake Kivu, which would release huge amounts of toxic gas into the surrounding valley. Luckily, Nyiragongo’s eruption in May this year did not trigger a such an event, and life has slowly returned to normal in Goma. Credit: Guerchom Ndebo for Fondation Carmignac

Liquid Rothko. Agnese Abrusci (Media editor). A narrow strip of road divides the ochre-coloured toxic waters of a mine reservoir from fresh green waters near the Spanish city of Huelva. This image — reminiscent of a painting by Mark Rothko — instantly captures the viewer’s attention, with its abstract simplicity evoking tranquillity and peace. But this eventually gives way to the realization that, once again, human activity is tainting natural beauty. Credit: Roberto Bueno/WaterBear and CIWEM

Fast fashion. Amelia Hennighausen (US media editor). The fashion industry’s carbon footprint is coming under increasing scrutiny. People currently accumulate more garments, use them less often and discard them faster than at any time in history — a trend that is predicted to worsen. This huge dump in Accra, Ghana, is filled with second-hand clothing imported from Australia, Europe and the United States that cannot be resold. People pick through the remnants while cows scavenge for food. The scene is a reminder that humanity needs to consider all of its wasteful behaviour if it wants to protect Earth. Credit: Andrew Esiebo/Panos Pictures

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