The best science images of 2020

A new virus, wafer-thin solar cells, gene-edited squid and more. A new virus, wafer-thin solar cells, gene-edited squid and more.


Send in the clown
An embryonic clownfish (Amphiprion percula) grows inside its egg. These remarkably detailed pictures were captured on days one, three, five and nine of its development; the first was taken hours after fertilization. Photographer Daniel Knop won second place in Nikon's Small World competition for photomicrography.

Power bubble
Materials scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, used an inkjet printer to make solar cells so thin and light that they can rest on a soap bubble. They created the cells from layers of 'ink', including a conductive polymer called PEDOT:PSS that formed the electrodes.

Protection vs pollution
Monkeys in Malaysia hold a medical mask. Protective wear has become a part of daily life for many amid the coronavirus pandemic. Environmentalists worry that disposable items are adding heavily to plastic pollution.

On the surface
This is the highest-resolution image ever taken of the Sun from Earth. Captured by the world's most powerful solar telescope, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, and released in January, it shows 'cells' of plasma rising from inside the star. The dark borders indicate where plasma is cooling and sinking.

Cutting cancer
This cancer cell has been slashed open using an ion beam. The beam has blasted part of the cell away to reveal a cross section and has cut a triangular shape into the silica substrate surface on which it rests. The technique, called ionbeam milling, allows researchers to look inside cancer cells in unprecedented detail.

Devastating plague
Vast swarms of desert locusts appeared in East Africa and the Middle East, threatening food production and livelihoods. Heavy rains can cause the insects to breed rapidly; they lay their eggs in moist soil. In Kenya (pictured, a man in Samburu County) the swarms were the worst seen in 70 years.

Scarred sky
Light trails from moving satellites score this photograph of a star. Companies are launching thousands of craft into orbit to provide people with Internet access, but astronomers are concerned about how sunlight reflected off satellites will interfere with observations.

The great north
Scientists on the biggest research expedition ever to the Arctic take atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity and water vapour. The MOSAiC mission has yielded unprecedented data on the north's climate.

Invisible ink
In July, researchers reported that they had made squid transparent with gene editing. They used CRISPR-Cas9 to delete a gene called TDO from embryos of longfin inshore squid (Doryteuthis pealeii). The TDO protein adds pigment to the animals' eyes and to colour-changing cells used for camouflage.

The seventh crown
A coronavirus (artist's visualization) became 2020's biggest story as it caused a devastating pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans.

Smooth sailing
This boat-shaped particle is 30 micrometres long and can propel itself using a chemical reaction. Researchers 3D-printed the particle and coated it with metal. This catalyses a reaction in the hydrogen peroxide solution in which the particle sits, to produce gas that pushes it along .

Hair raising
This knobbled surface is human skin -complete with hair follicles -that has been grown from scratch using 'pluripotent' stem cells that can develop into any cell type. Researchers hope that this kind of lab-grown skin will aid disease research and improve reconstructive surgery such as skin grafts.