Unexpected chemistry reveals cosmic star factories' secrets

Two galaxies in the early universe, which contain extremely productive star factories, have been studied by a team of scientists led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Using powerful telescopes to split the galaxies' light into individual colors, the scientists were amazed to discover light from many different molecules—more than ever before seen at such distances. Studies like this could revolutionize our understanding of the lives of the most active galaxies when the universe was young, the researchers believe.