Best science and technology pictures of the week

The most amazing pictures from the past seven days – featuring biblical swarms, reaching out into space, and jumping rats.

For more photos from Nasa Astronaut Chris Hadfield follow @Cmdr_Hadfield on Twitter.

To see all 50 images in the Smithsonian’s annual photo competition visit its gallery, where you can also vote for your favourite.

And to see all of the entries in The Mammal Society photo competition, visit this Flickr gallery.

More stunning image galleries:

Deep sea beauty, giant drilling machines and hypnotic space telescopes

Stunning views of Earth and up close and personal with a human parasite

Russian meteor, extreme weather and a turtle with artificial fins

Cosmic storms, the first bionic man and how to clean a oil-covered bird

Birth of stars, life at sub-zero temperatures and micro-living in the city

Pollution from space, active volcanoes and a robot restaurant

Amazing Lego sculptures, freakish weather… and Big Bird

Gruesome tools, environmental disasters and intimate views from space.

Christmas treats and the end of the world

Bathing snow monkeys, a tweeting pope and elephant dung coffee.

Architectural giants and a new way of seeing the Moon

Red pandas, Saturn and Nature’s unstoppable forces

The world's largest bloom, the world's largest aquarium and the world's fastest sailing boat

Venice under water, a total eclipse and a pedestrian-avoiding car

Space shuttle, Baumgartner and Hurricane Sandy

The best of 2012 galleries:

A year in space

The year in technology

A year of discovery

People of the year

The year in weather

The year in wildlife

Weird and wonderful

Places

New frontiers

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