FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature. The series of extraordinary images were taken by German software engineer Thorsten Scheuermann after he decided to examine his surroundings. A trip to the city of Kalapana in Hawaii, home to the Kilauea Volcano, provided Thorsten with the setting for his lava picture, while a visit to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon offered him the opportunity to photograph ice bubbles up-close. The 37-year-old, now of Washington, USA, said: 'These are sights that can gain greater significance and have their beauty exposed when excluding everything else around them.'
SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .
When personal trainer, Victoria Spence dreamt of achieving a thigh gap, she didn't realise her obsession would leave her body gripped by anorexia .
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .
A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .
A teenager bullied for having birthmarks all over her body now hopes to become a Hollywood actress to show girls that beauty comes from being unique .
A first-time mum has told how she was allergic to her unborn baby after she developed an angry red rash all over her body .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
THIS UNUSUAL collaboration between a mother and her two-year-old daughter makes for some stunning works of art .
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
This daredevil wildebeest tried a walk on the wild side - straight into the snatches of a huge 18 foot crocodile .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .