Studies of the galaxy by the Spitzer Space Telescope revealed a relatively young (190 million years) stellar population within the galaxy's nucleus, which may have originated through the interaction with NGC 4438 compressing gas and dust in that region, triggering a starburst.

[3] NGC 4438 is the most curious interacting galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, due to the uncertainty surrounding the energy mechanism that heats the nuclear source; this energy mechanism may be a starburst region, or a black hole-powered active galactic nucleus (AGN).

The aforementioned features explain why sources differ as to its classification, defining it either as a lenticular or spiral galaxy.

This observation suggests both a tidal interaction with NGC 4435 and the effects of ram-pressure stripping[5] as NGC 4438 moves at high speed through Virgo's intracluster medium, increased by the encounter between both galaxies.

As the presence of a supermassive black hole in the AGC of NGC 4438 is one of two leading theories, the galaxy is potentially that accessed by the wormhole in the film.