The cover of National Geographic’s December 2025 edition (at right) highlights its annual Pictures of the Year. For years, photographer Anand Varma has attempted to document when an egg yolk can still be seen but a bird form has clearly emerged. He experimented by incubating embryos in artificial shells before finally capturing the transformation at 12 days old. Varma separately raised some embryos to chicks, which he donated to people in the community.  (Anand Varma; National Geographic)

For years, photographer Anand Varma has attempted to document when an egg yolk can still be seen but a bird form has clearly emerged. He experimented by incubating embryos in artificial shells before finally capturing the transformation at 12 days old. Varma separately raised some embryos to chicks, which he donated to people in the community.  (Anand Varma)

A sunflower chimney bee rests on a pillow of velvety ochers in the early evening, likely already snoozing after a long day’s work pollinating plants. This species of bee often nests at the base of sunflowers, moving with commercial farmers as they rotate their crops.  (Karine Aigner)

Photographer Brian Skerry has been chronicling marine life for decades, but this image represents his first run-in with a great white shark in the Gulf of Maine, a place he did not expect to encounter one — especially from four feet away. Sightings of sharks like this 10-footer are increasing from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, perhaps due in part to changing climate patterns. (Brian Skerry)

This two-day-old piglet was bred to save lives. Scientists modified its genes in an attempt to harvest kidneys for human transplantation. Pigs like this represent new hope for the tens of thousands of Americans in desperate need of kidneys, 66% of whom remain on the waiting list for more than a year. (Craig Cutler)