THESE are the cutting-edge images that reveal the invisible beauty of owers beyond the bouquet. Artist Susumu Nishinaga uses a scanning electron microscope to delve deep into the fabric of petals, leaves and pollen. The Japanese artist then 'colours the images in' using a computer and reveal the building blocks of life. He said: "Almost everything on earth has been captured by photographers, but there is unknown beauty still waiting to be discovered in the micro world. The eye-opening collection includes geranium pollen, aubergine ower petals, pansies, lilies and the hibiscus plant. Mr Nishinaga originally trained as a graphic designer at university. Whilst there he visited a lab and saw a scanning electron microscope being used rst-hand. He was allowed a go on the machine and became 'hooked'. The high-cost equipment is able to produce images of the tiniest particles by scanning it with a focused beam of electrons. Mr Nishinaga has since had many books published and exhibitions commissioned in his native Japan.

PRETTY teenager Amy Darlow is one of the youngest funeral directors in Britain. Amy, 19, began working with the dead when she was just 14 during a work experience placement. The youngster, from Salisbury, Wilts, became fascinated by the role after watching Forensic Files - an American documentary series. It prompted her to take up a full-time post at Will Case and Partners funeral directors in Salisbury a year ago - becoming one of the youngest undertakers. She said: "The programme was a realistic take on how forensic science is used to find out how people have died. I liked the way it followed real people and the fact that death is a massive part of life really interested me, so I wanted to get involved." Amy, who is dating childhood sweetheart Declan Spreadbury, 22, said: "My friends were surprised and asked all sorts of silly questions. They asked me if the bodies sat up when they were being cremated - so I just told them that was just the gas coming out of the organs." She enjoyed the placement so much that four years later, she applied for a job and was successful. Now she is completing a training course at the parlour, alongside a funeral services foundation degree and an embalming course at the University of Bath. Clad in top hat, cravat and tail coats, Amy conducted her first funeral in June last year and has completed another nine since then. But the first time Amy saw a dead body was when her grandma died aged just 10-years-old. She said: "People try to hide death from children, but I was exposed to it - I went to see her in the Chapel of Rest. I was encouraged to kiss her on the forehead and say goodbye but sadly she wasn't looking her best. I asked why there were bubbles coming out of her mouth and the reply was that she'd just come out of the fridge. I was just a child - but the image has stayed with me." Now Amy knows that the gastric air coming from her grandma's mouth could have been prevented by embalming the body in a certain way. She said: "She could have looked better. It's important to get it right - because that's the last time you'll see someone. I want people to go away with good lasting memories." "At the end of the day, we're dealing with someone's loved one. It's not just a body."

Jupiter can be seen above the moon at night on May 12, 2013 in Duchang, China. It is rare to see Jupiter move so close to the moon.

A burst of solar material leaps off the left side of the sun in what’s known as a prominence eruption. This image combines three images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on May 3, 2013, at 1:45 pm EDT, just as an M-class solar flare from the same region was subsiding. The images include light from the 131-, 171- and 304-angstrom wavelengths.

Mom and dad of 16 Christi and Dave Cason love having children so much - they're expecting their 17th baby. While some parents struggle with one or two, the couple are thrilled to be expanding their already huge brood, and even used fertility medication to help them conceive. Christi and Dave, who have nine boys and seven girls, aged 23 down to two, would love to have 20 children in total. Christi, 41, said: "Each baby is different. There is always the excitement of who will they look like, what will their personality be like, will they have blonde or brown hair? "I don’t think I’m addicted to pregnancy. We just never felt that our family was complete." Christi and Dave, 45, a telecom's engineer, went through 20 months of heartache, including suffering two miscarriages, before falling pregnant in February with the help of the fertility drug Clomid. Christi, who is a master at stretching Dave's $80,000 (£50,000) a year income, decided she wanted a 17th baby just five months after youngest Nathaniel, two, was born. But sadly, despite falling pregnant within three months, Christi lost the baby just before her 12 week scan. The couple, from Lake Elsinore, California, tried again for a year without success, then, in September 2012, Christi's GP suggested she take Clomid, which stimulates the hormones necessary for ovulation. "We were desperate," said Christi. "We really wanted another baby and had never had any problems conceiving in the past. "The biggest age gap between any of our other children is only 22 months." Just three months later, in November 2012, Christi was overjoyed when she fell pregnant. But tragically, just three days before Christmas, she miscarried again at nine weeks. Although devastated, Christi and Dave were determined to try again, and are thrilled she is now 16 weeks pregnant. Christi also believes her health has improved in recent months, meaning she may have ovulated this time, even without help. "I feel really positive for the future," she added. "I think if we try for an 18th baby I might not need any medication. “Labours are always pretty easy and I never get morning sickness. I love seeing the bump grow and feeling the first kick." The couple are also celebrating becoming grandparents for the first time, after eldest daughter Jessica, 23, gave birth to baby Jaedyn, and Christi will be baby-sitting while Jessica is at work. Jessica and the other children, Chad, 21, Dalton, 20, Austin, 18, Bailey, 16, Gage, 15, Kaylee, 13, Harper, 12, Emma, 11, Rebekah, nine, Trevor, eight, Walker, seven, Morgan, six, Laura, five, Sawyer, three, and Nathaniel, two, are all excited to be expecting a new brother or sister. The couple explained they did not have a big family for religious reasons - but simply because they love having one. "I hope people don't judge us. We know we can afford a 17th child and all the children get loads of love and attention," said Christi. Dave added: "Christi is a wonder at making the budget stretch. I'm so excited we're having a 17th. I've already told everyone at work - way before I usually do." The couple's day begins at 5am, when Dave leaves for work and Christi starts the chores and preparing waves of children for school. The family produce three to seven loads of laundry per day, and get through at least two boxes of cereal, two gallons of milk and a loaf of bread. Dave's $80,000, (£50,000) salary covers the family's $1,300 a month mortgage for their five-bedroom home, $1,600 month food bill and $1,900 bills and expenses. “Even though we can’t afford vacations, with a big family there are always so many other things you can do to have fun," said Christi. "One baby won’t cost us much more, we have baby clothes and nappies already." Despite their hectic schedules, the couple still make time for date nights and even go away for weekends while the older children babysit. Christi said making time for each other was essential to keep a marriage strong. She added: “Dave and I always make sure we have time for each child individually. All the kids love to snuggle up to us and watch TV in the evenings. We’re all very close.”

A BRAVE 18-month-old girl whose head swelled to THREE times its size battles for her life as doctors desperately try to save her. Tiny Roona Begum was rushed to hospital after a condition called Hydrocephalus caused skull to fill with fluid and balloon to a staggering 94 centimetres. At it's worst it weighed 7 kilos - half the little girl's weight - and the tot's life was in serious danger. To poor to afford treatment, her devastated parents Abdul Rehman and Fatima Khatoon pleaded for help. And after her pictures were sent across the world caring medics at private hospital the Fortis Healthcare Group, in New Delhi, agreed to operate on Roona for free. Now they have managed to slowly reduce the size of the toddler's head by almost 11 cm after a week of painstaking draining the cerebrospinal fluid from her skull. And it is hoped the treatment has given her a real chance of survival. Dr Sandeep Vaishya, Director of Neurosurgery at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, who is treating Roona, said: "No one has dealt with such a large head before, this is uncharted territory for us, so we have to be careful and innovative. "In the last six days, due to the draining of the fluid, the head had reduced from 94 to 89 cm. “Because her bones are more flexible now, which was not the case earlier, we have put pressure bandages to remodel her skull bones. We have now managed to bring the size down to 83 cm." Roona, from Agartala, India, was left unable to sit upright, crawl or close her eyes and was extremely susceptible to infections. If not treated, it could have resulted in mental disability and death. On Thursday 18 April, she was flown to New Delhi along with her parents to be examined by doctors. Speaking before her treatment began last Friday (April 19), Dr Vaishya told reporters: "I was surprised when I saw the baby for the first time. Even though I had seen her pictures, I wasn’t expecting the head to be so big. "Her head measures 94 cm, in similar cases the average measurement is around 50-60 cm. "Her head is swollen to an extent that she is not able to close her eyes completely. We have an opthamologist looking at her eyes, so that there are no complications there. "We are hopeful that she will make a complete recovery. The challenge is to drain her brain fluid in a gradual manner, so as the brain gets used to it." Roona, known as Jannat, which means Heaven, has more agonising treatment ahead of her. But her parents are hopeful that they will be able to take her home in the near future. Mum Fatima said: “I can’t wait to take my Jannat back home. Once she is home, her grandparents will accept her and our family will be complete.". The huge size of her head means that the next stages of treatment will come with complications. In normal cases, the fluid is usually transferred to the abdomen using a internal tube called a shunt, though due to the size of her Roona’s head, it is unsure if a shunt can be used. “Since she is very small, there is no way her body can absorb all the fluid" said Dr Vaishya. "We will be tightening the bandages until size is stable enough for a surgery so we can put in a shunt." Once the remaining fluid is drained, Dr Vaishya and his team will explore the possibility of reconstructing her skull through plastic surgery.