Images Dated 27th March 2003

Weddell seal

Weddell seal. Eight-week-old Weddell seal pup (Leptonychotes weddellii) swimming under pack ice. Weddell seals are born singly. They have fine soft hair (lanugo) that turns to a dark thicker coat at about a month. They are born with their permanent dentition and, following weaning at six weeks, feed on fish and squid. Found throughout the Antarctic, the majority of their social behaviour occurs in water. Weddell seals have been recorded diving down to 600 metres and are able to stay underwater for up to an hour. They have well developed eyes, which assist them in hunting and locating breathing holes in the ice. Photographed off Signy Island, British Antarctic Territory

© DOUG ALLAN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Illustration of the fine structure of the eye lens

Illustration of the fine structure of the eye lens. This is the internal optical component (also called the crystalline lens) of the eye, responsible for adjusting focus. The lens is composed of elongated epithelial cells, many of which have lost their nuclei (here, shown as dark blue dots). These cells, known as lamellar fibres, contain a crystalline protein giving them optical properties. The cell membranes of adjacent fibres are fused, which creates minimal interference to light. The anterior of the lens contains a single layer of cuboidal epithelium cells with nuclei. This complex pattern of cells is enclosed in a transparent membrane capsule

© JOHN BAVOSI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

NOSTRADAMUS - PORTRAIT OF NOSTRADAMUS A woodcut portrait of Michel Nostradamus, probably

NOSTRADAMUS - PORTRAIT OF NOSTRADAMUS
A woodcut portrait of Michel Nostradamus, probably made by Leonard Gaultier, in the sixteenth century). The portrait was that numbered 129 in the series of 144 portraits of famous individuals, Le Theatre d'Honneur de plusieurs princes anciens et modernes, 1618. Unlike the majority of portraits, which appeared on title pages and prefaces to Nostradamus Propheties, this picture is generally believed to be authentic - perhaps based on a lost sketch known to Gaultier, or one of his staff

© 2003 Charles Walker / Topham