The 2010 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge is jointly run by the National Science Foundation in the US and the journal Science. Its categories include photography and illustration.

The stunning image above is a 3D illustration of the HIV virus attacking a human cell. A team at the Visual Science Company in Moscow spent months combing through scientific reports to get as much information as possible for their model.

The orange parts are the virus, with the grey being the human host cell. The cutaway section at the front shows how HIV can combine with a human cell and hijack it.

“You have this gaping mouth that almost looks like it’s ready to eat you, the way AIDS is eating away at society,” said Tom Wagner, one of the competition’s judges.

Make sure you take a look at our gallery, where you can see more of the best images from this year’s challenge.