The best science and technology pictures of the week

Robot pose

A performer dressed as robot stands at an escalator during the press preview of the international toy fair in Nuremberg, southern Germany. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Sombre scene

Am 18m-long dead whale lies at Predidents beach in the Sables d'Olonne, western France. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Bubble telescope

Nasa astronaut Kevin Ford, in the Unity node of the International Space Station, is seen through a water bubble floating between him and the camera (Copyright: Nasa)
Space monkey

A scientist holds a monkey which Iran said returned safely from a sub-orbital flight in a capsule 120km (75 miles) above the Earth’s surface. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Rocket success

The KSLV-1 (Naro) rocket lifts off from the launch pad at Goheung Space Centre in South Korea. (Copyright: Korea Aerospace Research Institute via Getty Images)
Hospital clown blowing bubble

A hospital clown – or ‘giggle doctor’ - blows bubbles during a training session in Bern, Switzerland. The clowns help children with hospital stress. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Smoggy commute

Residents in New Delhi wait for a bus in polluted conditions; environmentalists blamed diesel-powered cars for a recent spike in pollution levels. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Mountain pass

A WWII-era Lockheed P-38 Lightning flies over the Kitzuehel Alps in Austria during an exhibition flight. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Pollen counters

A Japanese weather forecast employee with ‘pollen counters’ – robots which monitor pollen levels during hayfever season, warning sensitive sufferers. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)
Flu toll

A Cambodian woman walks past chickens at a Phnom Penh market. Two girls died of bird flu, authorities said, bringing 2013’s death toll to four. (Copyright: AFP/Getty Images)

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The most impressive pictures from the worlds of science and technology this week - including a robot that can sniff out pollen levels, and a WWII-era fighter in scenic surroundings.