BEIJING Toyota and partner Pony.ai are planning to mass produce robotaxis in China, setting up a venture this

There’s a “runaway” black hole which has been speeding through the universe and mystifying the scientific community – or so we thought. Now, a possible explanation has been found that could explain the unusual, long star structures which have been observed over recent weeks. Last month, scientists thought they’d discovered something very unusual, with a trail of stars observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Some believed then that they were the result of a black hole creating eye-catching formations. Yale University researchers also posited the theory that the formation after two galaxies merged together millions of years ago. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, a new possible explanation from scientists at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) suggests that it is in fact just a flat or thin galaxy. “The motions, the size, and the quantity of stars fits what has been seen in galaxies within the local universe,” said Jorge Sanchez Almeida, an IAC researcher who is the first author of the article, in a statement. “It’s a relief to have found the solution to this mystery, the new proposed scenario is much simpler. In one sense it is also a pity, because the existence of fleeing black holes is expected, and this could have been the first one to be observed.” The team published its findings in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics under the title “Supermassive black hole wake or bulgeless edge-on galaxy?”. They compared the unusual feature to a galaxy IC5249 and found it to be similar. They found that it was surprisingly similar. The stars were moving in similar ways to those found in closer, comparative galaxies, researchers said. “We also looked at the relation between the mass of the assumed galaxy and its maximum velocity of rotation, and discovered that indeed it is a galaxy which behaves like a galaxy,” said Ignacio Trujillo, an IAC researcher who worked on the study. “It is an interesting object, because it is quite a large galaxy at a very large distance from Earth, where the majority of the galaxies are smaller.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Swimming stars Zhang Yufei and Siobhan Haughey were primed to battle for gold at the Asian Games on Thursday as South Korea wrought vengeance on hosts China in...

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Experts have been left baffled after the body of a female orca (Orcinus orca) was found on a beach and inside there were seven sea otters that had been swallowed whole. The dead animal washed up on the Commander Islands (Komandorski Islands) on the Bering Sea coast in 2020 - far from its typical area, according to the study published in Aquatic Mammals. But there has been further confusion due to otters not being associated as part of an orca's normal diet, with the species preferring seals, sea lions, dolphins, and whales. Six of the seven otters were inside the orca's stomach while the other one was lodged in the orca's throat, raising a possible answer to how the mammal died. Dr Olga Filatova, a cetacean researcher at Moscow State University described what they had found as "very unusual" and noted that otters are not associated with an orca's - aka a killer whale's - diet. “...killer whales normally do not eat sea otters - there were some observations of them harassing and killing sea otters, but very few proofs of actual consumption," she said. What's more, the fact that the otters were swallowed whole is also different from how orcas typically consume their food as they normally rip it apart. Therefore, this particular orca swallowing seven otters whole has raised some eyebrows. Some possible theories Dr. Filatova has come up with as to understand what happened include the idea that the orca was "very hungry, or sick, or crazy". Meanwhile, this bizarre case could possibly be the answer to the recorded decline in sea otters in the area. “Investigating the stomachs of stranded killer whales is crucial to directly confirm feeding on particular species," Dr Filatova and her colleagues concluded. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Scientists have discovered a ghost-white shark with a rare condition. The predator was accidentally hooked by fishermen dedicated to catching sole. They were working from the coastal area of Los Chimus in Peru and informed authorities of the find. At the time of its capture, the shark had injuries to its gill slits as a result of being caught up in the net last month. The marine animal was transferred to the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (IMARPE) in Chimbote to undergo tests. Scientists discovered that the shark had leucism, which causes partial loss of pigmentation. The condition differs to albinism, which is a complete lack of melanin - a substance in the body that produces hair, eye and skin pigmentation. Albinos often have pink or red eyes but while leucism often makes an animal’s skin white, it does not affect their eye colour. IMARPE said this is the first known case of a shark in Peruvian waters having this condition. The fish was a young female that measured 89cm in length. Sexual maturity in females takes place when they are around 220cm in length. The predatory species sits high on the trophic food chain and mostly feeds on other sharks, rays, cetaceans and sea lions. Broadnose sevengill sharks are known to hunt in packs to bring down large prey. They are recognisable by their seven gill slits as most shark species have five. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

To mark National Sunglasses Day, Paige Spiranac invites fans to check out her exclusive unseen pictures on her website, 'OnlyPaige'

Apple Inc.’s top executive in charge of its video and sports businesses is departing, according to people familiar