[caption id="attachment_27852" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo: Igor Siwanowicz"][/caption]

Focus Magazine has held a photography contest for the last four years featuring pics from various research projects.  Second place (in Captivating Research) this year went to Igor Simanowicz for this shot of a praying mantis' threat display.  The rest of the selections over at SpiegelOnline are also impressive.

Siwanowicz's praying mantis finds herself in good company, among a coral-like vascular system, a robotic seal bringing comfort to dementia patients and an explosion of activity in a neuron cell. The collection presents a fascinating look at the work being done in laboratories around the world.

The picture doesn't have to be taken by a pro like Siwanowicz, just as long as it makes research more accessible to the non-scientific community.

Link | via Twisted Sifter