gshc2020.com

1. Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England - 78%)

2. Beth Mooney (Australia - 35%)

3. Ellyse Perry (Australia - 86%)

4. Heather Knight (England - 52%)

5. Richa Ghosh (WK, India - 38%)

6. Marizanne Kapp (South Africa - 60%)

7. Freya Kemp (England - 34%)

8. Charlie Dean (England - 62%)

9. Sophie Ecclestone (England - 72%)

10. Kim Garth (Australia - 63%)

11. Sree Charani (India - 49%)

TMS pundits' team of the tournament

We also asked members of the BBC Test Match Special team to have their say.

Former England spinner Alex Hartley: Shafali Verma (India), Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Heather Knight (England), Shemaine Campbelle (West Indies, wk), Orla Prendergast (Ireland), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Charlie Dean (England), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Kim Garth (Australia), Sree Charani (India)

"Shafali Verma hasn't scored the most runs but I've prioritised high strike-rates at the top of the order, while Danni Wyatt-Hodge's form speaks for itself.

"There's also an emphasis on all-rounders because if you look at England and Australia, they were unbeaten in the group stage and that's how they built their successful teams. Ellyse Perry is back to her best and has been bowling more, plus three frontline spinners which are crucial in the middle overs of a T20."

World Cup winner Ebony Rainford-Brent: Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Tazmin Brits (South Africa), Smriti Mandhana (India), Beth Mooney (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Fatima Sana (Pakistan), Lauren Bell (England), Sree Charani (India).

"A top order built on the tournament's standout run-scorers with Sciver-Brunt to captain and anchor. From six down it's all-round depth and control with Kapp and Matthews before a specialist bowling attack.

"There's balance with a deep batting line-up to eight, three seam options and three spinners to plenty of flexibility whatever the surface."

BBC cricket reporter Henry Moeran: Darcey Carter (Scotland), Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Shemaine Campbelle (West Indies), Richa Ghosh (India, wk), Orla Prendergast (Ireland), Dani Gibson (England), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Kim Garth (Australia), Aaliyah Alleyne (West Indies), Sree Charani (India)

"Australian players don't feature as much as previous editions, which tells you a lot about how close this tournament has been with so-called smaller nations offering real tests for the more established sides.

"It's been a World Cup where every game provides drama, so here's to plenty more in the future."

BBC Sport journalist Matthew Henry: Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Darcey Carter (Scotland), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Orla Prendergast (Ireland), Richa Ghosh (India, wk), Nilakshi de Silva (Sri Lanka), Charlie Dean (England), Sree Charani (India), Aaliyah Alleyene (West Indies), Kim Garth (Australia).

"The slightly surprising pick here may be Aaliyah Alleyne but her final over against Scotland is the best I have seen from a bowler in this competition.

"West Indies were floundering, Deandra Dottin was in tears while bowling the previous over, but Alleyne held her nerve to secure a crucial win over Scotland."

Former England fast bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt: Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Heather Knight (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Richa Ghosh (India, wk), Freya Kemp (England), Charlie Dean (England), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Kim Garth (Australia), Sree Charani (India)

"Obviously I would have selected Nat if I had the option!

"All-rounders have played a really important part in the tournament so I've packed plenty of them in, with two left-handed batting options from Chamari and Freya Kemp. For the bowling, I've gone spin-heavy with two of the top wicket-takers in Ecclestone and Charani because on these grounds with bigger boundaries, they have been really difficult to get away." %!s()

Short-lived sources of radio radiation in the sky, known as radio transients, can originate in the vicinity of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. They are the result of processes that take place under extreme physical conditions. While most radio transients associated with galactic centers last only days or weeks, the galaxy SDSS J110546.07+145202.4 has been shining very brightly in radio light for several years—the first source of its kind.

An international team led by Stefanie Komossa from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) studied this unique galaxy using new observations and archival data ranging from low-energy radio waves to high-energy X-rays. The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Loud and long-lasting

The spiral galaxy SDSS J110546.07+145202.4 is located about 1.8 billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo. The intensity of its radio emission increased more than 20-fold in a short period and shows no signs of weakening. For more than eight years, the galaxy has been shining exceptionally brightly in the radio regime—about 10 quadrillion (10¹⁶) times as intensely as our sun. "We are dealing with the prototype of a new class of galaxies that undergo rapid changes in radio emission," comments co-author Phil Edwards from CSIRO, Australia's national science agency.

The source of the radiation is located near the black hole at the galaxy's center. This black hole has a comparatively low mass, which is increasing exceptionally fast, however, through the accretion of matter. "Luminous radio radiation from rapidly growing, lightweight black holes is rare to begin with. Their transition into a long-lasting, radio-bright state has never been observed before," reports lead author Komossa. "Follow-up observations with numerous telescopes, including the 100-meter radio telescope in Effelsberg, CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array and satellites in space, confirm the source's unique properties," adds co-author Alexander Kraus.

Based on the extensive data set, the team suspects that more matter has been falling into the black hole for several years, which in turn has triggered a jet—a concentrated beam of particles traveling at nearly the speed of light that emits radiation. Why exactly more matter is falling into the black hole, and why the outburst has lasted so long, has not yet been conclusively determined.

A local laboratory for the early universe

A low mass and rapid growth are precisely the properties of central black holes that one does expect from galaxies in the early universe. Compared with these distant sources, however, SDSS J110546.07+145202.4 is located in our cosmic neighborhood. This allows for detailed observations and insights into the physical processes surrounding the evolution of black holes and the formation of jets.

"Such high-energy events can provide astronomers with a wealth of insights. By observing these jets and outbursts, we can study the physical processes in some of the most extreme environments in the universe," says co-author Kovi Rose from the University of Sydney's Sydney Institute for Astronomy.

In the future, high-resolution instruments such as the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) will make it possible to map the structure of the jet and track the evolution of the radio emission over the coming years. "With sensitive facilities like the incoming SKA telescopes, we'll be able to identify similar radio transients in future sky surveys. This is crucial for filling the gaps in our understanding of the early universe," explains Komossa.

Publication details

S. Komossa et al, SDSS J110546.07+145202.4: The First Long-duration Radio Changing-look NLS1 Galaxy, The Astrophysical Journal (2026). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae610f

Provided by Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy

Who's behind this story?

Lisa Lock

BA art history, MA material culture. Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: A nearby black hole as a window into the early universe (2026, July 5) retrieved 17 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nearby-black-hole-window-early.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. %!s()

It jiggles around, it's visible from the back, it's the sort of treatment Steve Rogers rarely gets in a big-budget superhero videogame (even if the comics do this song and dance every summer). Granted, Marvel Rivals already had risqué skins for its male characters here and there, I think the giant dong just caught everyone off guard. Anyway, people think it's been nerfed.

Or perhaps a more appropriate term would be 'reined in.' You see, a comparison post from user Used-Earth8767 went up on the Marvel Rivals subreddit titled, "Captain America's bulge has been nerfed. It no longer goes through the chair." You can see before and after shots of Steve's little Avengers Tower, and indeed, it seems to have shrunk a bit. "As a proud straight man, I can say that WE, yes, ALL us straight men, want Captain America's bulge back and his ass in our face," OP elaborated in the thread.

If that's true, the fourth of July is a hilarious day to make such a change. But it may not be true. Down the thread, a reply from user L9-45 said, "I extracted and pulled the model. There are no changes directly to the model or rigging from what I can see. It's possible they fixed the bulge to parent it to his pelvis which would fix the stretch down (and inward) in the first pic." In other words, some of that janky jiggling players noticed may be the unintentional result of an animation oversight.

As a journalist, it is my duty to find, nay, fight for the truth. But whether NetEase nerfed the hog or not, there's no way for me to know Captain America's canon hog size, so I couldn't say whether any nerfs would be warranted. Until Marvel editorial speaks on the matter, I'll have to defer to what I see in-game.

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. %!s()

Since then, events have taken a turn.

Ugarte sustained what the 25-year-old described as "the most serious injury a footballer can face" on World Cup duty for Uruguay against Spain.

United are yet to confirm the extent of Ugarte's knee ligament damage. However, it is thought Ugarte suffered cruciate damage that would sideline him for the rest of 2026 at least and rule out any chance of him being sold.

In the transfer market, United have encountered more issues.

On 25 June, Manchester City agreed a club record £116m deal with Nottingham Forest for England international Elliot Anderson. He had been United's number one midfield target.

Then, on 2 July, Tottenham paid a club record £85m for West Ham's Mateus Fernandes. United had pushed hard to sign the Portuguese and genuinely thought he was a player they could attain.

However, once Spurs made their interest in Fernandes known, West Ham, under new direction through co-chair Daniel Kretinsky, were able to stick to a valuation in excess of £80m.

United would have been willing to pay £85m - albeit including add-ons - but ultimately felt if they had offered that sum, Spurs would have immediately gone to £90m. It is this kind of situation they are keen to avoid.

United have agreed a £35m deal with Serie A outfit Atalanta for Ederson but his late call-up to the Brazil squad means his medical will not happen until Carlo Ancelotti's side are out of the competition. As with all United's World Cup players, he will then get a minimum of three weeks off.

It means, unless the position changes, the only midfielder among boss Michael Carrick's senior group when they return for testing and the pre-season training on 9 July will be Mason Mount, who is viewed as more of an offensive player.

On 18 July, the day before the World Cup final, United play their first friendly fixture, against Wrexham in Helsinki.

Of the eight first-team midfielders listed on United's website, in addition to Mount, Carrick's options will be Toby Collyer - who is wanted by Hull - Dan Gore, who spent last season on loan at Rotherham, who were relegated from League One, and twins Jack and Tyler Fletcher. The rest are all still on World Cup duty. Tyler Fletcher was a surprise call-up to Scotland's squad after impressing in the build-up, but did not play.

United's Premier League 2 skipper Jacob Devaney impressed in a central midfield role for Scottish Premiership outfit St Mirren in the second half of last season. Jack Moorhouse, who made 14 appearances on loan for Leyton Orient in the first half of the campaign, Jayce Fitzgerald, Sekou Kone and Jim Thwaites are other central midfielders in United's academy.

With a match against Norwegian side Rosenborg to follow on 24 July, United's younger players have a chance to impress Carrick.

But it is fair to assume once United hit a run of high-profile pre-season matches, starting with Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on 1 August, Carrick will expect to have had the midfield situation addressed.

Alex Scott (Bournemouth)

The 22-year-old appears to be the current main target. However, Arsenal are also keen on an industrious young player who overcame a difficult first 18 months at the Vitality Stadium injury wise to play a leading role in England's 2025 European Under-21 Championship triumph. He made 37 league appearances last term as the Cherries finished sixth, their highest ever league position, to claim a Europa League place. The issue is twofold. Premier League champions Arsenal will be formidable competition. And, more importantly, Bournemouth have made it clear Scott, who has two years left on his current contract, is not for sale and they want to tie him down to a long-term contract.

Tyler Adams (Bournemouth)

Adams is one of those players who rarely grabs attention but is a key member of whichever team he plays for. Adams did miss games last season with knee and hamstring problems and, prior to the 2024-25 campaign he needed back surgery. However, he was an integral part of Andoni Iraola's side last term and has featured for every minute of USA's World Cup campaign, other than the defeat to Turkey, which was a dead rubber. Like Scott, his Bournemouth contract runs to 2028. Unlike Scott, Bournemouth might be willing to sell Adams for £40-50m.

Andrey Santos (Chelsea)

Had Liam Rosenior remained as Chelsea manager, Santos might not have been for sale. The 22-year-old featured for Rosenior at Strasbourg and made 43 appearances for Chelsea last season. He fits the same kind of profile as Casemiro, albeit with vastly less experience. BBC Sport's Nizaar Kinsella reported on 3 July "a number of sides are understood to be interested in Santos" and that "those close to Santos seem open to the possibility of a move". He too could be available for around £50m.

Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund)

Nmecha's is another name being floated around. A former academy player at Manchester City, who was part of the Germany team stunned by Paraguay at the World Cup, Nmecha is well known to United's director of football Jason Wilcox, who was formerly head of City's academy. Nmecha did sign a new contract at Borussia Dortmund in March and United sources say there is nothing proactive happening in terms of trying to sign him at this moment.

Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)

A key part of the France side many predict will win the World Cup this summer. In some senses, Tchouameni would be the most attractive potential signing. He would almost certainly be the most expensive wage-wise at a time when minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to stop paying huge salaries. New boss Jose Mourinho will clearly have a major say in whether Tchouameni stays at the Bernabeu. The current feeling at United is that he will.

Carlos Baleba (Brighton)

The present indication is that there has been a cooling of Manchester United interest in Cameroon international Baleba. However, given he was the subject of concrete interest, which was rebuffed, last summer, presumably all the background work has been done, meaning he could emerge as a genuine target again at relatively short notice. The drawback is Brighton are not weak when it comes to negotiation and there has been no suggestion that despite a dip in form, the transfer fee needed has dropped below £100m. %!s()

Larian didn't want to make Baldur's Gate 4, BioWare veteran James Ohlen didn't want to make Baldur's Gate 4, so who's going to make it? I'm not going to answer that question, not just because I don't have a clue, but because I'm starting to think that nobody should make it.

Please stop throwing rotten veg and goblins at me—at least until the end of the article. Then you can chuck away. Thank you.

Anyway, James Ohlen is to blame for putting this idea in my head. When we interviewed Ohlen a wee while ago, he said something that stuck with me. "I wouldn't want to compete against that. Doing Exodus is hard enough, but having to compete against Baldur's Gate 3? That would be insanity."

Ohlen went on to shower Swen Vincke and Larian with compliments, but his hesitancy wasn't exclusively down to how talented the team was—it was also uniquely positioned to create BG3. It had the engine, the infrastructure and the institutional knowledge required to make something like this.

He believes that BG4 would need fresh faces. Developers with the confidence of old BioWare, back when the studio didn't know its limitations and just wanted to do its own thing.

"That was me back in Baldur's Gate. I was like 'Everyone else sucks and we're going to crush it.' It was us against all the other game studios, we're going to outdo them. And because none of us had built games before, we were all like, 'We're going to do everything different.' And sometimes you need that."

Ohlen makes a compelling argument, and I'd love to see a new team take some big, bold swings. But I don't think that's what people really want for a new Baldur's Gate. They're going to be expecting, or at least wanting, something massive, elaborate and polished. Something that favourably compares to BG3. That's way too much to expect from a studio's first game.

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When BioWare made BG1, it wasn't weighed down by all these expectations. It could throw out the rule book and almost wing it. But in 2026, the name Baldur's Gate could become a crushing weight for a new studio—it would be a disaster.

The problem is that I don't think one of the more experienced RPG studios would fare much better. Take Beamdog, for example. It's been the custodian of BioWare's classic RPGs since 2012 and has even added to them. It's effectively BioWare's offspring. But it's never been able to step out from the bigger studio's shadow.

Beamdog's Enhanced Editions are great, but the road to these remasters was bumpy, and some of them launched in less than ideal states. I just don't see it managing something as ambitious as Baldur's Gate 4 would need to be—as evidenced by founder Trent Oster's pitch to Hasbro for BG3.

"Our Baldur's Gate 3 wasn't as big picture as what Larian pitched," Oster told us. "Obviously, we were doing it at a much smaller scope. It wasn't going to be a $100 million game. I think we were pitching it in the $20 million range."

Then there's Owlcat. The Pathfinder games are strikingly similar to BioWare's excellent Infinity Engine games, and after some post-launch polish Rogue Trader became one of my favourite CRPGs. But with the studio already dividing its attention between Dark Heresy and its Expanse RPG, Owlcat's busy enough.

Regardless, I don't think it would be right for Baldur's Gate 4. Its approach to RPG systems is very 'more is more', to the point where I eventually found managing my crew and levelling them up in Rogue Trader a chore. And while the move from Pathfinder's RTWP system to a turn-based combat system was very welcome, it was still bloated and plodding.

The thing is, I just don't think we'll get a better Baldur's Gate. Or at least, I don't think there's currently a studio out there that could do a better job, or even a similar job, to Larian. And this isn't a criticism. We're enjoying a golden age of RPGs right now, from expensive behemoths like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, to weird experiments from tiny teams like Esoteric Ebb. But this very specific kind of RPG? Larian utterly dominates it.

With that in mind, I wish Hasbro would take a risk and try something different. Not a new Baldur's Gate, not a new Icewind Dale, not even—and I hate myself for saying it—a new Planescape: Torment. I know I'm being extremely brave for even thinking this, but maybe not everything needs to be a sequel.

Hasbro is in charge of an entire multiverse. D&D is so all-encompassing that you could do pretty much anything with it. Instead of putting all the eggs in the Baldur's Gate basket—especially since OG BG remakes are coming—it should be trying something new. Smaller projects that aren't trying to one-up BG3. These projects could then give the teams working on them the knowledge they need to tackle bigger games, and allow them to develop new tools that could be used to forge ever more impressive worlds.

Larian spent years building up to Baldur's Gate. It had successes, failures, weird pivots, and it almost shut down—all of this contributed to BG3. This is a singular developer, and Hasbro simply isn't going to find another Larian.

But if Hasbro went down the route of nurturing talent, of playing the long game, who knows? Maybe in 10 years we'd get a Baldur's Gate 4 that could meet our incredibly high expectations.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog. %!s()