Coronavirus close-up, faded star and orchestral operation — February’s best science images

Coronavirus close-up, faded star and orchestral operation — February’s best science images

A cancer cell, and the silica substrate it’s sitting on, sliced by an ion beam. (The Institute of Cancer Research, London)

The month’s best science images

The close-up shot above shows a cancer cell that has been cut open using an ion beam. The beam has blasted part of the cell away to reveal a cross section and has cut into the silica substrate, creating a triangular shape. Ion-beam milling allows researchers to look inside cancer cells in unprecedented detail. The image by biomedical engineer Nick Moser and cancer biologist Chris Bakal was shortlisted for the science- and medical-imaging competition run by the Institute of Cancer Research in London.

See more of the month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

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