Seed Gallery

Cosmic microwave background

Cosmic microwave background. Spherical projection of the cosmic microwave background, using all-sky data from the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe). Since it is a spherical projection, it only shows half the sky. The microwave background is radiation from the beginning of the universe (actually 380, 000 years after its creation) that has been stretched (cooled to around 3 Kelvin) by the expansion of the universe. The colours show the variation in the temperature (then equivalent to density) of the early universe. Denser regions (red, yellow) formed the seeds of galaxies and other structures. Data obtained in 2003

© NASA/WMAP SCIENCE TEAM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Date palm tree, Phoenix dactylifera

Date palm tree, Phoenix dactylifera, Dattier. Handcoloured steel engraving by Oudet after a botanical illustration by Edouard Maubert from Pierre Oscar Reveil, A. Dupuis, Fr. Gerard and Francois Herincq's La Regne Vegetal: Planets Agricoles et Forestieres, L. Guerin, Paris, 1864-1871. Date palm tree, Phoenix dactylifera, Dattier. Handcoloured steel engraving by Oudet after a botanical illustration by Edouard Maubert from Pierre Oscar Reveil, A. Dupuis, Fr. Gerard and Francois Herincq's La Regne Vegetal: Planets Agricoles et Forestieres, L. Guerin, Paris, 1864-1871. Date:

© Florilegius/Mary Evans

Coffee beans

Coffee beans. These roasted seeds of the coffee plant (Coffea sp.) contain the stimulant drug caffeine. Coffee beans are used to make a beverage that has been drunk for over 1000 years. Different varieties of bean yield different flavours, and the types and intensity of roasting imparts properties such as intensity of flavour and bitterness to the drink

© BILDAGENTUR-ONLINE/TH FOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY